Web Desk (LTN NEWWS): Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the Ministry of Education and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to put together a special package for students in areas of the country that were hit by floods.
A statement from the federal government says that part of the package will be a fee waiver and a special scholarship program for both undergraduate and graduate students. It said that the education ministry and the HEC have started working on putting the package into action.
“On the order of the prime minister, an education package is being put together to help students in affected areas in different ways. The relief includes putting off fees that are due and starting a special scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students. The decisions were made at a meeting that Federal Education Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain led”, the statement said.
It also said that the meeting decided to open transitional schools in areas that had been hurt.
The education minister tweeted: “Held meeting with Chair HEC & decided following for students from flood affected areas: 1. Defer current/due university fee payments. 2. Devise the mechanism/possibility for a fee waiver. 3. Special Scholarship program (UG&Grad) for students from flood-affected areas.”
The government told the HEC to start helping people and students in the affected areas. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, who is the head of the HEC, met with vice-chancellors from both public and private universities twice.
In an interview, the head of the HEC said that as a quick fix, all universities had decided to put off collecting fees for this semester, including hostel fees for students from areas that were affected.
“In the meantime, we are also working to start scholarship programs for students in areas that have been affected. In this case, a PC-I is being made for the federal government. In the same way, we are looking into options for fee waivers,” he said, adding that an instant fee waiver is hard because universities can’t run without fees, but “we are working on a solution that will work.”
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The head of HEC said that different committees of VCs had been set up. These committees will come up with solutions to get the country out of the crisis based on their areas of expertise.
“We have set up a number of committees that are doing very well,” said the head of the HEC. He also said that these committees will write reports that will be shared with the government to help it make good policies.
Dr. Mukhtar said that universities in flood-hit areas had also opened their doors to flood victims and that faculty members were doing what they could to help.
