Breach of contract

HEC scholars should be held accountable and the HEC should be pushed to collect the money that it is owed.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) are in a tussle as the latter has questioned, in front of the National Assembly last week, the conditions on which the former sends students abroad on HEC scholarships. According to the AGP, the HEC has failed to implement the terms of the surety bonds. Furthermore, the HEC is yet to recover Rs136 million from scholars who are currently in breach of agreements for local and foreign scholarships. Potentially indicating a fault in the HEC’s record-keeping system, despite its claims to the contrary, many addresses and CNIC data have been found to be false, making it an even more difficult task to track down those who are in breach of their scholarship agreements.

The issues here are multidimensional. First, the HEC should be questioned on why there are fallacies in simple record-keeping. The solution is to verify all data received from applicants, especially once the applicant has been awarded a scholarship. The second is to take more stringent measures in awarding candidates with the financial aid. The HEC should award only those applicants who have a vested interest in working in Pakistan as they are more likely to return to Pakistan.

It is a shame that not even the ‘scholars’ of this country have the honour and integrity that other scholars have around the world. Even with years of education, funded by the Government of Pakistan, these scholars have had the audacity to violate their contractual terms. While on the opposite side, we might understand some candidates’ desperation to leave Pakistan to seek better educational and career opportunities elsewhere, we still find it discreditable that these so-called ‘scholars’ do not have the integrity to go through proper channels of communication and try to work to renegotiate their contracts. Indeed, these scholars should be held accountable and the HEC should be pushed to collect the money that it is owed.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2013.

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