ISLAMABAD, July 2: The syndicate of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has agreed in principle to increase the PhD allowance in social sciences disciplines and bring it on a par with that of basic sciences subjects, university sources told Dawn.

They said so far PhD allowance in social sciences was Rs1,500 while in basic sciences, it was Rs5,000. However, for the last few years, PhD degree-holders in social sciences subjects were asking the university administration to bring their salaries equal to that of their counterparts in basic sciences.

Therefore, the QAU syndicate, in its recently-held meeting, decided to accept this demand, and during the current financial year, the social sciences PhD holders will be getting a pay equal to that of basic sciences.

When contacted, the chairperson of the history department, Dr Dushka Haider Syed, said: “Though I have not been officially informed in this regard, however, it will be a great source of encouragement for the present faculty in social science departments, especially for those who are doing research in social sciences.”

She further added that a couple of months ago during a meeting between the QAU faculty and President Musharraf, the latter had supported the idea of increasing PhD allowance for doctors in social sciences disciplines.

In a similar move, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced post-doctoral fellowship scheme for university teachers.

Under the scheme, university teachers will be sent abroad for post-doctoral research to enable them to update their knowledge and skills and bring it on a par with international standards.

According to the official spokesperson for the HEC, the scheme would provide opportunities to PhD degree-holders of universities, centres of excellence, area study centres, Pakistan study centres, and degree-awarding colleges/institutions for nine to 12 months research in their respective disciplines.

He said this scholarship would be awarded on merit through competition on national basis and would be open to all faculty members working in the public-sector universities and degree- awarding institutions in the fields of basic sciences, engineering, agriculture, social sciences and arts and humanities.

Special consideration would also be given to those who did not have an earlier exposure of going abroad to work in well- equipped laboratories and competitive international levels.

This will be followed by an opportunity for those PhD degree-holders who have not been able to update their knowledge in the last five to 10 years.