LAHORE, Feb 22: Of the Rs20.16 million allocated by the Central Zakat Council for distribution of scholarships among deserving students in the Punjab, only Rs6.8 million has so far been distributed in five of the 34 districts in the province, as students are reluctant to accept these scholarships because of social taboos against being called recipients of Zakat.

The Central Zakat Council has also decided to rename the Zakat Scholarships as the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Mora) Scholarships to make them acceptable to the deserving students most of whom have been reluctant to accept these scholarships since the institution of the scheme in 1994.

The Council has proposed distribution of Mora Scholarships through committees comprising principals or headmasters and senior teachers of the schools or colleges concerned and a member of the District Zakat Committee.

The Provincial Zakat Council has proposed replacement of the District Zakat Committee member with the Local Zakat Committee chairman. The Council is of the view that district Zakat committees comprise only seven members who cannot spare time to attend meetings for sanctioning scholarships in hundreds of schools and colleges. Scholarships’ distribution will be delayed if composition of these committees is not revised.

Primary and middle school students are to be paid Mora Scholarship at the rate of Rs75 per month and secondary school students at the rate of Rs112 per month. Intermediate and graduation students are to be paid the scholarship at the rate of Rs375 per month and postgraduate students at the rate of Rs750 per month. Engineering and medical students are to be paid Rs874 per month.

Only five districts have been able to distribute Mora Scholarships in the Punjab this year. A total of 2,310 students received scholarships worth Rs3,008,880 in Multan district whereas 642 students were granted scholarships totalling Rs1,027,716 in Hafizabad district. As many as 182 students received Rs367,452 as scholarships in Mianwali district whereas 59 students were granted scholarships totalling Rs291,276. A sum of Rs1,110,513 has been distributed among students of Khushab.

The National Zakat Council has been allocating 18 per cent of the Zakat funds for grant of scholarships to deserving students, but a major portion of the money remains unutilised and is refunded every year because many of the deserving students do not want to be called recipients of Zakat.