Capacity-building measures: Scholarships for provincial officers ‘on hold’
‘Austerity’ policy bars provincial cadre officers from foreign master’s programme.
LAHORE:
The government has closed the doors on provincial cadre officers for scholarships in foreign universities on the pretext of a scarcity of funds. The officers are now being offered the opportunity to attend master’s degree programmes in local universities which most of them resent, The Express Tribune learnt.
The Provincial Resource Management Programme (PRMP) was introduced as a project of the provincial Planning and Development Wing nearly two years ago to impart modern skills to officers serving in Basic Pay Scale-17, 18 and 19.
The programme was basically aimed at enabling the officers to cope with issues related to enhanced provincial autonomy. The federal government provided $2 million from its Professional Development Programme (PDP) fund for the programme in 2007. The PRMP offered scholarships for studies in 10 master’s degree programmes in foreign universities.
In the first phase of the programme, 14 officers from provincial cadres were sent for two-year degree programmes in various foreign universities. As many as 18 officers were granted the scholarships in the second phase.
However, no federal funds were available for the third phase. The government then decided it would fund the programme through indigenous resources and managed to provide for another 11 officers in 2009. In 2011, the Provincial Management Services (PMS) officers began a movement for a better deal in postings, promotion and training opportunities. This held up the training programme for a while.
PRMP finally decided that instead of foreign scholarships, scholarships at local universities would be offered in 10 disciplines.
The cost of a foreign university scholarship is around Rs4 million per officer. It comes to around Rs0.12 million per officer at a local university. A DMG officer requesting anonymity said the decision was justified under the austerity project. However, PRMP programme director Abdullah Khan Sumbal said foreign scholarships programme was on hold, not abolished. He said the chief minister had given approval for re-starting the foreign scholarships from next year. Local universities had offered scholarships and the Punjab government wanted to benefit from these in line with its policy of capacity building. Sumbal said the impression that the government had closed the doors on provincial cadre officers was false.
He said the PRMP had issued a letter to provincial administrative secretaries asking them to nominate officers who were interested in the offered disciplines. He said PRMP scholarships were available for studies at GC University, Beaconhouse National University, Forman Christian University, Lahore University of Management Sciences and Lahore School of Economics.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2011.
The government has closed the doors on provincial cadre officers for scholarships in foreign universities on the pretext of a scarcity of funds. The officers are now being offered the opportunity to attend master’s degree programmes in local universities which most of them resent, The Express Tribune learnt.
The Provincial Resource Management Programme (PRMP) was introduced as a project of the provincial Planning and Development Wing nearly two years ago to impart modern skills to officers serving in Basic Pay Scale-17, 18 and 19.
The programme was basically aimed at enabling the officers to cope with issues related to enhanced provincial autonomy. The federal government provided $2 million from its Professional Development Programme (PDP) fund for the programme in 2007. The PRMP offered scholarships for studies in 10 master’s degree programmes in foreign universities.
In the first phase of the programme, 14 officers from provincial cadres were sent for two-year degree programmes in various foreign universities. As many as 18 officers were granted the scholarships in the second phase.
However, no federal funds were available for the third phase. The government then decided it would fund the programme through indigenous resources and managed to provide for another 11 officers in 2009. In 2011, the Provincial Management Services (PMS) officers began a movement for a better deal in postings, promotion and training opportunities. This held up the training programme for a while.
PRMP finally decided that instead of foreign scholarships, scholarships at local universities would be offered in 10 disciplines.
The cost of a foreign university scholarship is around Rs4 million per officer. It comes to around Rs0.12 million per officer at a local university. A DMG officer requesting anonymity said the decision was justified under the austerity project. However, PRMP programme director Abdullah Khan Sumbal said foreign scholarships programme was on hold, not abolished. He said the chief minister had given approval for re-starting the foreign scholarships from next year. Local universities had offered scholarships and the Punjab government wanted to benefit from these in line with its policy of capacity building. Sumbal said the impression that the government had closed the doors on provincial cadre officers was false.
He said the PRMP had issued a letter to provincial administrative secretaries asking them to nominate officers who were interested in the offered disciplines. He said PRMP scholarships were available for studies at GC University, Beaconhouse National University, Forman Christian University, Lahore University of Management Sciences and Lahore School of Economics.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2011.