Dhaka, Sep 18 (IANS): Pakistan government’s scholarships for Bangladeshi students have caused disappointment among the selected students as allegations have emerged that scholarships only include tuition fees and accommodation and do not cover expenses related to meals, transport, airfare and other benefits, local media reported.
During his visit to Bangladesh in August last year, Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced an educational cooperation initiative, “Knowledge Corridor”, aimed at strengthening higher education and people-to-people ties between the two countries, Rafiqul Islam Pintu wrote in a report in Bangladesh-based Daily Asian Age.
Under the initiative administered by Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC), “fully funded” scholarships were announced for students of Bangladesh. After the examination and selection process, students who were selected for postgraduate programmes were given offer letters that do not reflect that promise. Allegations have emerged that scholarships only include tuition fees and accommodation and do not cover expenses related to meals, transport, airfare and other benefits. This has caused disappointment among selected students of Bangladesh, with many of them calling the situation a “deception”.
Under the Knowledge Corridor, the Pakistan government had promised to give 500 fully funded scholarships to students of Bangladesh over the following five years. Under the initiative, the first batch of around 74 students started studying in Pakistan’s universities in February, according to the Daily Asian Age report.
New scholarships were announced in Dhaka in May. After completing the scholarship process under the second phase, students selected for post graduation programme were told that they would get only tuition and dormitory fee waivers, implying that they would not receive financial support for monthly allowance, meals, transport or other essential expenses, leaving them disappointed. Despite getting selected, many students have decided to not take the scholarship to study in Pakistan.
“On behalf of Bangladeshi applicants for Pakistan’s fully funded master’s scholarships, I would like to bring an important issue to your attention. This is a form of deception: saying one thing and doing another. It is deceiving hundreds of students and jeopardising their futures,” Daily Asian Age quoted a student, who wanted to remain anonymous, as saying.
