RAWALPINDI: Although Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University is in possession of sufficient budget, it has imposed a major cut on funding for vice-chancellor talent scholarship programme.

The cut has taken students and teachers by surprise as they were expecting more scholarships.

“Instead of reducing the funds, the university should have offered new scholarships so that students could take part in academic activities more vigorously,” a student on condition of anonymity said.

“This is not a positive step. In all universities, brilliant students are encouraged but my university has curtailed scholarships,” said a student, who wished not to be named.

According to university catalogue 2013-14, for securing the vice-chancellor talent scholarship, students were supposed to get GPA between 3 and 4.

As per catalogue, in all disciplines, Rs12,000 were fixed for top position holder in a semester, Rs10,000 for second and Rs8,000 for third position.

However, sources said recently the university administration got the proposal of slashing the scholarship approved by the Academic Council in its 48th meeting.

The sources said it was decided that instead of offering discipline-wise scholarships, students would be given scholarships at degree level.

When contacted Malik Nadeem, the spokesman for the university, confirmed the reduction in the scholarship funds and said the amount would be utilised for ‘Talent Job Opportunity’.

Replying to a question, the spokesman said there was no dearth of money and the university got substantial budget this year from the HEC and the Punjab government.

However, a senior faculty member said the VC talent scholarship was meant for providing financial aid to brilliant students and not for any other programme.

“This is astonishing, first the university curtailed scholarship programme and now it is saying that it will divert this money towards ‘Talent Job Opportunity Programme,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 17th , 2014