KARACHI, July 24: The federal minister for science and technology, Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, has refused to accept an amount of Rs1.2 million admissible to him as research productivity allowance and suggested to the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST) to use the amount for creating an endowment fund for the needy and deserving students of the University of Karachi.

An official of the PCST said on Wednesday that the grant of research productivity allowance was in line with the decision of the second meeting of the National Commission for Science and Technology, presided over by President Pervez Musharraf.

The meeting had decided to increase incentives for scientists to encourage high quality research, he added. “Thereafter, a summary was submitted to the ministry of finance which was approved with the condition that quality research published in international journals should be made a criterion for the grant of the allowance,” he added.

The government used the criteria set by the Institute of Scientific Information, Philadelphia, (USA), for rating the scientists.

It may be noted that half of the amount given to the scientists is personal honorarium, while the remaining is to be used for promoting research in their respective areas of specialization.

“The PCST had widely advertised the decision in the national press, asking scientists to provide details of their qualifications, required for the grant of allowance,” he said, adding that about 300 scientists qualified under the criteria set by the government and filed their claims.

A committee of eminent scientists reviewed the claims and made the final decision in each case.

“Prof Atta was among the few rated in “A” category”, he added, and maintained that some eligible scientists could not be paid the allowance due to paucity of funds.

On the contrary, the PCST surrendered some amount at the end of the financial year after making payments to all those, for whom, the allowances were approved, he said.

The PCST has accorded approval for awarding Rs3 million to 37 faculty members of the University of Karachi in recognition of their research and educational activities.

Those included Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, Dr Zafar Saeed Saify, Dr Viqaruddin Ahmed, Dr Abdul Malik, Dr Atia Abbasi, Dr Bina Siddiqui, Dr Faryal Wali Mohammad, Dr Khalid Mohammad Khan, Dr Iqbal Chaudhry, Dr Shaiq Ali, Dr Sabira Begum, Dr Shaheen Faizi, Dr M.A. Haleem, Dr Akhtar Zaidi, Dr Mohammad Ishaq, Dr Arif Kazmi, Dr Siddiqua Firdous, Dr Usman Ghani Khan, Dr Iqbal A. Khan, Dr Khalid Anees,

Dr Muneer Mehdi Raza Naqvi, Dr Sadia Manzoor, Dr Pirzada Siddiqui, Dr Darakhshan Haleem, Dr Nazarul Hasnain, Dr Rashida Qasim, Dr Abid Azhar, Dr Alia Rehman, Dr Ajmal Khan, Dr Mohammad Qaiser, Dr Saifullah, Dr Saliha Ahmed, Dr Ahsan Ahmed Wahidi, Ms Rakhshanda Baqai, Dr Ijaz Shaikh Rasool, Dr Qudoosi Kazmi and Dr Shahina Fiyaz.—PPI