ISLAMABAD: Each passing day makes it more difficult for Fawad Khan to manage his studies along with his part-time job.

The 22-year-old has come to Islamabad from Karak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to do a Masters at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).

“I used to give home tuitions to meet my monthly expenses and pay my fees at the university but it became difficult to manage with the varying timings of my classes,” he said.

Fawad is the eldest among his siblings and is working to fulfil his father’s dream of educating his children.

His father, who died eight years ago, was a labourer who had himself not attended school.

Baitul Maal only provides support to 50 students at each university, rejects applications from deserving students

“I completed my Bachelors from Karak, and secured first division. Now I am studying Business Administration at the IIUI. I applied for financial aid from the Pakistan Baitul Maal (PBM) but my application did not get approved due to the large number of applicants,” he said.

Like Fawad, Noreen Pervez also succeeded in gaining admission to IIUI but despite her financial circumstances did not receive financial aid. “I was around five when my father passed away. My mother and I ended up having to live with my uncle as we did not have our own house,” she said.

Noreen said the PBM received five to six hundred applications from students in each public sector university in the capital, who needed financial support for their studies. Of these, only 50 applications are approved.

An IIUI official told Dawn that the university opened admissions twice a year and thousands of students were enrolled in each session.

“We receive around 500 applications from students who need financial support but as per the requirements of the PBM we have to shortlist 50 students in each session,” he said.

A PBM official explained that three years ago the Baitul Maal instructed universities to establish their own committees to shortlist students for financial support due to a shortage of staff at the PBM.

“Baitul Maal officials should scrutinise the list of deserving students themselves as it is common for committees at the universities to recommend students without properly judging their need and eligibility,” he said.

PBM Managing Director Abid Waheed Shiekh said lack of resources made it difficult to increase the number of scholarships available. “The budget for the last year was Rs2 billion and this year too we are working under the same budget.”

He said the maximum scholarship amount available to a student had also been increased from Rs60,000 to Rs0.1 million, while the criteria had been made tougher to make only students securing first division eligible.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2014