Sindh to deprive high-achieving students of prize money

Centre has not released allocated funds to Sindh government, says Universities and Boards secretary

KARACHI: When high-achieving students from Pakistan leave the country to get admission in top-notch universities around the world, they often face mixed reactions. While a lot of people applaud them for representing Pakistan at an international level, others point out the disadvantages of brain drain - a phenomenon that can leave a country struggling to develop because its skilled manpower leaves the economy.

However, when students are not rewarded for their hard work and dedication, they naturally lose faith in their country's educational system. That's exactly what the Sindh government has recently done by bringing an end to the project through which high achievers from matric and intermediate levels used to be awarded prize money.

Each year, more than 30,000 students used to receive prize money by government educational boards. Recently, however, the budget of Rs1 billion which was specifically allocated for the said purpose has been slashed.

The decision was taken in protest of the inadequate release of funds by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. Under the Public Sector Development Programme, the fund was to be given to the Sindh government out of which Rs100,000, Rs200,000 and Rs300,000 were to be awarded to the first, second and third position holders, respectively, of matric and intermediate examinations. Besides, it was previously announced that those who secured an A-1 grade at the matric and intermediate levels would be awarded a cash prize of Rs25,000 each.



Speaking on the matter, the Universities and Boards Secretary Riazuddin Ahmed told The Express Tribune that it wasn't possible for the Sindh government to issue the amount to deserving students anymore due to lack of funds.

Lack of funds

"The federal government has not released the allocated funds to the Sindh government, so how will students be paid?" he questioned. "A summary to issue prize money to the position holders has been sent to the chief minister of Sindh. However, it is uncertain whether they will release the amount and the procedure can take up to two months".

The funds were released last year in April and May of 2018 as per the allocated budget for the fiscal year 2017-2018. Considering that, the Sindh government allocated an amount for the annual budget, 2018-2019. The amount was, however, not released by the federal government.

Students who passed their matriculation exams in the academic year, 2018, are now appearing for their first-year intermediate exams, while those who secured A-1 grade at the intermediate examination in 2018 are now enrolled in various universities.

It is pertinent to mention that the universities and boards department had sought details pertaining to A-1 grade position holders from all the matriculation and intermediate boards across Sindh.

Number of high-achievers

All the education boards had informed the department in writing about the number of matric and intermediate A-1 grade and position holders. In the current year, the number of A-1 grade achievers in intermediate examinations from the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) stands at 2,400, while the number of high achievers from Karachi Matric Board stands at nearly 17,000.

The Karachi Matric Board is the largest education board in Sindh with respect to enrolment, and nearly 150,000 students appear for matric exams through the board every year.

The number of A-1 grade achievers in matric and intermediate examinations from the Mirpurkhas Education Board stands at 3,479. Similarly, the Hyderabad Educational Board has nearly 3,000 high achievers, while the number of students from Larkana and Sukkur Education Boards was separately assessed.



When approached, the BIEK Chairperson Professor Inam Ahmed told The Express Tribune that data related to the number of A-1 grade achievers in intermediate exams for the academic year 2018 was sent to the department three to four months ago. The chairperson said, however, that he has no information as to why the funds were not released to be awarded to deserving students.

"So far, the board has only received 30% of the funds allocated for examination fee and enrolment of students at government educational institutions," he explained. "The remaining 70% is still pending."

Shedding light on the issue, the Board of Matric and Intermediate Education Hyderabad's Chairperson Dr Muhammad Memon said that the Universities and Boards had sought information regarding A-1 grade achievers and position holders six months ago.

"We sent the relevant information in a timely fashion, however, no further details regarding prize money has been received by the board from the controlling authority," he said.