MULTAN: The Higher Education Commission has put on hold PhD scholarships of the Public Sector Development Programme for the Bahauddin Zalcariya University, Dawn has learnt.
The BZU administration had named the scholarship programme after former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani who had approved 100 scholarships, allocating Rs1 billion.
The scholarship is meant for four years and each scholar will have to join the BZU after completing their PhD.
An email sent by HEC Programme Development Officer Muhammad Yasir Anwar to the BZU registrar directed the university not to award or send the scholars aboard who had recently been selected. The number of such scholarships is more than 45.
`The scholars were selected by selection boards held on June 28-29 and Sept 3-4 without the prior approval of HEC, the mail stated. It added that a joint meeting of the HEC and the BZU would soon be scheduled to finalise the further award process.
An inquiry team of HEC recently visited the university to probe into various matters, including the allegations of selection of candidates for scholarship against the criteria and rules.
A BZU spokesman said as per the HEC direction, the university administration had stopped the process.
