Less developed areas: 28 projects worth Rs25.318bn approved during three years: HEC chief
RECORDER REPORT
ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission got 28 projects worth Rs25318.5 million approved by the government for the country’s less developed areas during last three years.
Chairman HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmed informed this to Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas on Monday.
He informed the meeting chaired by Senator Muhammad Usman Kakar at the Parliament House that only 50 percent of scholarships given under Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan are being awarded to students.
Giving details of scholarships awarded during last three years, he said that a total of 1616 scholarships have been given for local universities and 465 for foreign universities.
As per Vision-2025 of the federal government, some 66 university campuses would be established in different districts of the country, he said, adding that the construction of all these campuses would be completed in phase I, II, and III.
The chairman of the committee, however, said that only 50 scholarships out of 200 for Balochistan students have been awarded so far and efforts will be made to award the remaining scholarships to deserving students at the earliest.
He also recommended that 50 percent of the scholarships under Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan should be given on merit while the remaining 50 percent should be distributed in all the districts.
Some members of the committee, however, complained about the incompetence of the HEC to establish university campuses in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and far-flung areas of Balochistan and to improve education standard in the country.
To a question of Senator Nisar Muhammad, the chairman HEC said the establishment of university in FATA was delayed due to differences of the tribal agencies, but now about Rs1.75 billion have been approved for the project and classes will start from September.
Dr Mukhtar also informed the committee members that the HEC has set up its own testing system and this will start working from January next year while the students who will undertake tests under the system will not be charged.
