LAYYAH: Anomalies in documents (B Form) have deprived more than 150 students, 60 girls among them, of laptops being awarded under the chief minister’s scheme.

The irate students have blamed the Dera Ghazi Khan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) for the situation.

The Punjab government had announced the CM’s scheme to award laptops to the students who had secured 90pc marks in the intermediate examination. Around 300 students of Layyah who appeared in the examination in 2015-16 were declared eligible for the scheme and went to Dera Ghazi Khan to receive their laptops at a ceremony on May 30. But less than half could get the laptops and others were informed about incongruity in their documents and the BISE computer data.

Commenting on the situation, Prof Khursheed Ahmed said the computer branch of the DG Khan Board might have made bogus B Form entries during the registration process of students in ninth class. He said there was also likelihood of mistakes by the board officials.

Many students including Amna Laraib, Alishba and Mariyam told Dawn that the Board had verified their result cards but still did not give them laptops. They said they were preparing themselves for medical entrance test and badly needed laptops which had been denied to them.

Mrs Rasheed Bhatti, who accompanied her daughter to the ceremony, protested the students were made to travel to Dera Ghazi Khan during Ramazan and eventually denied the laptops. She said the Board officials rudely responded to the queries and told them to complain against them.

Speaking to Dawn, Deputy Controller Muhammad Amjad Sheikh claimed that errors in B Forms of the students had led to confusion and the process to rectify these had been started. “We have informed the higher authorities about the situation. The laptops are meant for students and will be provided to them after rectifying the errors,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2017