HEC was given the go-ahead to thoroughly examine the situation and inform the Committee of the admission standards for various professional colleges at the ensuing meeting.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) was urged by a parliamentary panel on Monday to review the policy and to limit scholarships consideration to Balochistan and the formerly-known as FATA residents who not only have a residence there but also have matriculation certificates from the region.
The Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) met on Monday, and during that meeting the Committee adopted the report of the subcommittee that dealt with physical verification of the development schemes of ADP and AIP funds, e-tendering, GIS mapping, pre and post picture uploading, and resolving the problem with the type D hospital of the village of Shindad, Jawaki, FR Kohat.
Senator Sania Nishter, Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, Senator Dost Muhammad Khan, Senator Hidayatullah, Senator Haji Hidayat Ullah Khan, senior officers from the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, the Home Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Rehabilitation and Relief Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as everyone else involved, attended the meeting as the chairman of the committee.
The Committee discussed issues such as the status of the regularisation of 1,774 contract employees of the Health Department following the National Assembly’s passage of the Regularization Bill, the regularisation of employees of the Afghan Refugees Organization under the SAFRON Ministry, the specifics of scholarships awarded by HEC to deserving students in Balochistan and the former FATA, and the payment of damages and losses to FATA residents in accordance with actual demand.
The Committee was informed by the Ministry that 133 employees had received regularisation orders while it was briefing the Committee on the regularisation of 1,774 contract workers. However, work on the 1221 employees is already in progress.
The Ministry was instructed to conduct an internal investigation and submit a report to the Committee within 15 days by the Committee, which was looking into the reasons for the process’s delay. The subject will be discussed at the following meeting.
The Committee was informed that SAFRON was unable to support the Organization’s financial burden with regard to the regularisation of employees of the Afghan Refugees Organization (ARO), which is under the control of SAFRON.
When discussing the specifics of scholarships for students from Balochistan and the former FATA, the Committee emphasised the need for a HEC policy review and instructed it to only consider scholarship candidates who, in addition to having a local address, also have matriculation certificates from the region.
HEC was given the go-ahead to thoroughly examine the situation and inform the Committee of the admission standards for various professional colleges at the ensuing meeting.
The Committee was of the opinion that the release of funds must be made in accordance with legal formalities, including audits, when discussing the payment of damages and losses to FATA residents in response to actual demand.