RAWALPINDI: Fresh graduates from the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University claimed that they were being deprived of laptops under the prime minister`s youth scheme.

They said despite clear directives of the Higher E ducation Commission (H E C), their university had adopted delaying tactics to hand them the laptops.

`We are eligible for getting the laptops but our university administration is using delaying tactics. We doubt the officers responsible for the distribution have given our laptops to some other persons/students,` said Talha Kafi, who recently graduated from the university.

It may be noted that on November 7, scores of students from the university staged a protest demonstration in front of the HEC offices against the alleged discrimination in the distribution of laptops.They said during their stay at the university from June 2010 to June 2014, their names were finalised for the laptops.

But they were not given the laptops as the scheme faced a little delay.

Later, when the students completed their degrees, the university declared them ex-students and refused to give them the laptops.

The ex-students said following their protest outside the HEC, the project steering committee of the commission at its meeting on November 13 directed the university to hand over the laptops to all the students whose names had been finalised under the scheme.

`The students who have been in the list as eligible students and have validated their records on the student service portal may be awarded the laptops,` said the steering committee in its decision available on the HEC website.

`We have been running from pillar to post for our genuine right but to no avail,` said a female student of the university, who wished not be named.

When contacted, Chaudhry Waqas, assistant director and the university`s focal person, said all eligible students would be awarded laptops.

`I agree that the HEC hasdirected us tohand overthelaptops to eligible ex-students and we will follow the directive,` he said.

When asked when the students would be awarded the laptops, he didn`t give any specific date, saying the university was awarding the laptops in `phases` The distribution of laptops is being executed through the HEC but the scheme is marred by mismanagement at several universities, which awarded the laptops to some of their employees as well.

After receiving complaints, the federal government formed a committee to monitor and evaluate the scheme by checking the record of the students who were given the laptops.

`We received some complaints about irregularities made by some universities. They might have awarded laptops to their employed students as well,` HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed told Dawn.

He said the HEC had introduced a transparent mechanism such as online database for the scheme and there would be no issue to reach those who wrongly distributed or received the laptops.

`Whenever a new project is launched, there are certain elements to sabotage it,` he said and added that all the eligible students would be given the laptops.