LAHORE: The Punjab University School of Communication Studies` (SCS) MPhil Professional Track (self-support) programme has virtually come to halt because of a lack ofinterest of the faculty concerned.

Even the pleas of the students enrolled last year in this programme had been falling on a deaf ear forthe last one year.

`I have already deposited admission and first semester fee (Rs56,000) but the department has been making one excuse or another to start the classes for the last one year,` an affected MPhil Professional Track (selfsupport 2021 session) student told Dawn on Friday.

He said programme coordinator Dr Lubna Zaheer who was recently promoted as professor told the students (who enrolled in the MPhil professional track self-support programme last year) that the department needed tohave a strength of atleast six students to start the session. `This year too neither the department nor the programme coordinator (Lubna Zaheer) showed interest in launching the programme, rather they offered us to merge them with the morning programme of the professional track,` he said.

In the morning programme of MPhil Professional Track, a number of candidates were declared pass in the test and all 25 seats were filled after interviews. However, only four candidates could qualify the test for a selfsupport programme purely meant for the media professionals, thus raising questions about the administration`s decision to take its own entrance test instead of hiring a private external examining body as per previous practice.The affected students have also written to the Punjab University vice chancellor, urging him to look into the matter and redress the grievances.

Dr Zaheer was not available for a comment.