![nearly 400 german french scholarships exclude sindh universities photo file nearly 400 german french scholarships exclude sindh universities photo file](https://i.tribune.com.pk/media/images/653929-scholarshipap-1388690479/653929-scholarshipap-1388690479.jpg)
The students and faculty members in Sindh universities are upset that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has excluded them from foreign and indigenous scholarship programmes.
The Express Tribune has learnt that this new contention involves some 400 German and French scholarships and the Prime Minister’s Fee Reimbursement Scheme for Less Developed Areas. The former does not cover any university from Sindh while the latter has omitted the medical, engineering and general-subjects universities in Jamshoro and Karachi.
![](https://etribuneblogs.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/dr-ahsan-memon.jpg?w=625)
“It is a fact that since its inception, HEC has always discriminated against Sindh in terms of distribution of resources,” complained Dr Ahsan Memon, the general secretary of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities’ Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa). “Be it scholarships, research grants, travel grants or recurring and development budgets, the HEC has always neglected the public sector universities of Sindh.”
Foreign scholarships
Last month, the HEC announced 200 French and 200 German scholarships under its need-based scholarship programme. Both the undergraduate and postgraduate students from 10 selected universities from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan are covered under the two schemes. Not a single university from Sindh has, however, been included. “Such scholarships provide opportunities to the students to study in developed western countries, unlike the HEC scholarships which offer opportunities in less developed countries,” pointed out Dr Arshad Memon, who represents the teachers of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET).
According to him, the students prefer foreign scholarships to those offered by the HEC. “The HEC scholarships have many more strings attached, in term of guarantees and post-qualification service,” explained Shabbir Khuharo, a civil engineering lecturer at MUET. He said that only countries such as Brunei and Hong Kong are offering scholarships to students in Sindh along with the rest of Pakistan. “It would be great if some of the German and French scholarships are given to Sindh students.”
PM’s Reimbursement Scheme
Under the prime minister’s reimbursement scheme, the federal government will bear the complete cost of postgraduate education of the students who belong to the country’s less-developed areas. The deserving and poor students from Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, FATA, South Punjab, Malakand, Kohistan and DI Khan areas of KP, as well as, rural Sindh qualify.
The HEC has included all the districts of Sindh in this list, except Karachi and Jamshoro, much to the dismay of the students of Jamshoro’s three universities. “I want to inform you that a majority of the students (about 95%) of rural Sindh are studying in MUET, Jamshoro,” read a letter written by MUET’s director for postgraduate studies Dr Khan Harijan. The letter was addressed to the executive director of the HEC, Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmed.
The students at the Sindh University are particularly disturbed for being left out. “Some of us tried unsuccessfully to get the funding but we were told that Sindh University students are not covered,” said an MSC natural sciences student, Amir Wachuho. The university’s spokesperson, Majeed Panhwar, admitted the university has, so far, not raised an objection with the HEC. Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, deputy registrar, Dr Saroop Bhatia, said over 280 admissions this year, from a total of 350, were from these districts.
Meanwhile, the HEC officials were unavailable for comments. The Fapuasa has urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take notice of HEC’s discrimination. Dr Memon informed that the association’s members from Sindh held a teleconference recently and demanded an independent inquiry of HEC’s scholarship programmes.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2014.
COMMENTS (11)
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please dont devolve HEC...especially to SINDH Govt.. it will turn into asifa zardari scholarship program and no one will benefit from it in whole SINDH. it will be looted as haj scam, submarine deal, nicl scam etc etc.. Today sindh stand at minus(-)150 years from the modern day world... if you will devolve HEC to SINDH Govt it will go back to Moen jo darro period. Please help. please raham.
Farooq Bhai, Merit and competition sermon is very good when you're argumenting but merit and competetion deserve fair and equal participation, conditions and resources. You can't apply merit in vacuum. It's a system with several layers/conditions. Plz don't remind me that Sindhi Wadera's are corrupt that's the only reason for Sindh's poor education system. This is status-quo and mindset which needs to be challenged by meritorious people like you and inept/incompetent people like me.
@Farooq Bhai- God has made all people equal but the development of talent depends on access to fair and affordable educational opportunities. We people from West Pakistan blamed Bengalis that Bengalis are not talented. Once they got independence, Bangladesh is far ahead of us. "Inclusive Pakistan" means we should develop the educational talent of all Pakistanis irrespective of their place of residence or language. If one part is lagging in educational attainment, we should worry and think how to make that area "equal to other developed areas". Regarding meritorious and talented Pakistanis who mostly hail from Punjab and big urban centers like Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi- Hyderabad; the present precarious and pathetic condition of Pakistani all institution (and country overall) is manifestation of their achievement. We need to develop educational testing methods which really encourage intellectual nourishment and equitable distribution among all people of Pakistan. Quota system should be reserved for deserving areas and not for all other developed areas, as you mentioned. All parts of Pakistan if fairly developed and educated can integrate our country without coercion and blame-game. I will request government to rid Sindh of Wadera shahi-(mainly of People’s Party and MQM) and Bureaucracy’s corrupt nexus to develop Sindh and Pakistan.
This.is with reference to HEC discriminatory practices with sindh.
I would like to share my bed expereince that i was granted travel grant to attend an international conference in Agadir, Morocco in 2009. I cam back and sent them required documents like ticket receipt, proceedings, original conferen e registration fees receipt, HEC focal person kept asking for few more things luckily i had my boarding ticket i sent them after a long time by june 2013 they called me again that we can not reimburse your granted money the reasonis we dont have documents. While i was trying to convince them i heard other person ordering the person on call with me to shut the call up. I am working as a assistant professor at Sindh university jamshoro i dont know a way to get this grant. This Is highly discouraging and highly disgraceful Yes there is strong case to dissolve HEC to SIndh HEC (Sh HEC)
Due to the great leadership of PPP,rural Sindh looks to be about 100 years from civilisation.
Dear, Mr. Saleem, If previous such scholarships were mostly given to students from Sindh, they have got by Merit not by so Called Sifarish Culture, and HEC should give scholarships through transparency and recently act by HEC is totally biased.
This is because previous such scholarships were mostly given to students from Sindhi, mostly from Karachi u.
I don't understand why don't we send our most brightest and talented students abroad for PhD? There should be a country wide exam, those students who secure the highest marks should be selected, end of story.
please dont dissolve HEC how scholarships are sindh are given on in certain areas and to certain people it is pathetic so yes if merit has to prevail make sure that it is not under any provincial govt. especially sindh
Devolve HEC as per 18the amendment, otherwise people of Sindh wont get any scholarship. All will go to big brother province in the name of centralization. Why should the province of Sindh pay for the educational expenditure of other provinces. Pls Devolve HEC and stop unfair practices. And give due rights to smaller provinces.