SINCE the inception of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in 1974, a huge amount has been recovered from the AIOU employees as benevolent and group insurance fund, but no rules have been framed to subsequently benefit the employees.

Presumably, a huge amount collected in this head has been lying in the university account from which it is earning a markup.

On the other hand, the federal employees benevolent and group insurance fund has rules that entitle the employees to receive grants on retirement, marriage of their children, deaths, etc. But the AIOU administration refuses to entertain any such request on the plea that it does not have similar rules.

The absence of rules is not the fault of the employees that they are denied the rightful benefit.

The AIOU statutory forum should have either framed the rules or adopted the rules of federal employees benevolent and group insurance fund long ago.

But sadly they remained and continue to remain indifferent to this statutory requirement, thereby denying the benefits of benevolent fund and group insurance to its employees.

As a retired employee, I had requested for such a grant almost a year ago, but am still waiting to even get an interim reply.

I hope that the authorities concerned would take notice of this anomaly and redress it immediately.

HAIDER BHURGRI Former deputy director, IET, AIOU Islamabad