Buzdar makes Eid for stranded students

Eid was around the corner and they did not have any money to live on. They were all young Pakistanis who went to China to study on scholarship. They then decided to make themselves heard and seen through videos in which they explained that their scholarship grant has not been released. They also explained that they had to borrow money from their Chinese teachers to survive.These videos went viral on social media and created a stir in universities in Islamabad. Academia here are already well aware and fed up with what the higher education authorities have been doing with this sector. Rising to the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar ordered immediate release of Rs200 million for the stranded students. Being a feeling leader of the largest province of Pakistan, Buzdar expressed his anger on blockage of funds that caused unnecessary inconvenience to young Pakistanis in the foreign land. He went on to order an inquiry into the matter to ascertain whose negligence is behind this mismanagement.Prof Dr Sajid Awan, director of the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR), said CM Buzdar has the talent to put the higher education sector in order because he himself is from a challenged background and knows what goes wrong where.Prof Dr Aqeel Bukhari, president of the Academic Staff Association (ASA) of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), said that the Punjab CM has earned a good repute solving problems of education sector. “It is encouraging to see that CM Buzdar understands complexities of the higher education sector. We appeal to him to depoliticise our higher education institutions so that faculty is able to deliver quality results. Incompetent and corrupt elements have destroyed our education system and the CM should launch a drive to purge this sector of such elements so that our children do not suffer at foreign lands anymore,” he said.Prof Dr Tahir Malik, of National University of Modern Languages (NUML), also appreciated the CM’s decision to take the bull by horns. He said higher education authorities should be extra careful on the occasions like Eid as poor students do not have much resources while studying abroad. On these occasions, it must be ensured that their scholarships are delivered on time.

from The News International - Islamabad http://bit.ly/2JULqcr