MARDAN, Aug 6: The Association of Doctors in Philosophy has said that degree holders from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) were receiving a little more than one-third of the “PhD allowance” that individuals from other provinces were receiving.

Dr Qazi Kifayatullah, member of the association, told Dawn on Friday that PhD holders of the Frontier province were getting only Rs1,500 as opposed to the Rs5,000 allowance that eligible candidates from other provinces and Azad Kashmir were getting.

“This is discrimination against PhD holders of the province,” Dr Kifayatullah said.

Dr Kifayatullah warned that PhD holders of the NWFP would launch a protest movement against such discrimination if this issue was not resolved immediately.

The issue was brought to the notice of the provincial education department last year but officials there merely passed on the complaint letter to the federal government and sought comments in this regard.

According to Dr Kifayatullah, the federal finance minister had promised to increase the allowance for PhD holders of the NWFP in the current budget but he had not yet issued any notification in this regard.