HYDERABAD: Vice-Chancellor, University of Sindh Prof. Dr. Muhammad Siddique Kalhoro informed that a total of 349 more students received scholarship cheques on Wednesday.
“Another 2400 deserving male and female students will soon be able to get their cheques under various scholarship programmes, ” he said.
After giving scholarship cheques to these 349 students, the number of recipients of the cheques at University of Sindh under different 14 scholarship programmes had reached four thousand.
The Students’ Financial Aid Office (SFAO) University of Sindh in collaboration with the Bureau of STAGS organized Cheque distribution event at the Sheikh Ayaz Auditorium located in the Arts Faculty Building, where the Vice Chancellor handed over the cheques of worth Rs. 2, 30, 000 (each) to 10 research scholars of M.Phil and Ph.D under Sindh Higher Education Commission Scholarship Programme.
A total of 55 undergraduate students of the varsity were given away the cheques amounting to Rs. 2, 750, 000 under Sindh HEC Scholarship Programme. The University of Sindh deducted the annual fee from the total amount of the scholarship of deserving students and gave them away the cheques of the remaining amount. Students who have already paid the annual fee will submit an application to the SFAO after which cheques will be issued to them within 15 days.
Addressing the ceremony, the Vice Chancellor informed that HEC Islamabad had granted 700 scholarships for Sindh University students under Ehsaas Scholarship in 2020, but during an online meeting with HEC officials, he personally asked them for another 500 scholarships. On which, the Vice Chancellor informed that finally the HEC officials agreed to place 400 students more in the waiting list. He further informed that another 2400 male and female students will soon be given cheques under different 14 scholarship programmes.
He maintained that not a single penny of the amount coming for the students would be wasted and the money would be released to them in time so that they might continue their education. The Vice Chancellor said that the total number of recipients at Sindh University under 14 different scholarship programmes had now reached 4, 000 adding that the University of Sindh had hostel facilities for 5, 000 male and female students and 350 PhD faculty members. “Such number of qualified teachers and facilities of dormitories is not available in any other university in the province”, he claimed. He informed that it was decided to give one day break to the students in the next semester examinations so that they may appear in it being stress-free.
The Vice Chancellor said that it was necessary to pass the papers and obtain a minimum 3 CGPA to get the scholarship, therefore; he advised the students to work hard. He said that the Sindh government was approached to release a special grant of Rs 1500 million in order to steer the varsity out of financial crisis, however, it approved Rs. 500 million, which had reduced some of the liabilities and debt burden from the shoulders of the university. He informed that a loan which was taken from the bank in 2019 by the then administration was repaid as interest of Rs. 2.6 million was being paid in retaliation to that bank loan. After avoiding interest for a month, this month the salaries have been paid again by taking a loan from the bank.
The Vice Chancellor said that if the annual fees had been collected in June 2021, he would not have gone for taking a loan from the ban for salaries. He made it clear by saying that no matter what the financial situation of the varsity might be, not a single rupee would be spent on the other heads from the scholarship money being released for the students. Among others, Registrar Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Bhutto, Dean Faculty of Arts Dr. Syed Javed Iqbal, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Dr. Zareen Abbasi, Dean Faculty of Engineering and Technology Dr. Khalil-ur-Rehman Khambhati, Director Students Financial Aid Office Dr. Fiza Qureshi and Director Finance. Syed Zainal Abidin Shah was also present on the occasion.