The scholarship is an amount given to deserving economic distress students to meet their necessary needs to get skills, education for the betterment of their future. These scholarships are given by some organizations to those students who meet their aid criteria. Every organization has set its own criteria to provide scholarships to students. Like, need-based, merit-based, orphan scholarships, widow scholarships, special person scholarships, and so many others. Organizations provide these scholarships to bring those students to a platform where they can learn new skills and become a significant part of society.
The irresponsible behaviour of students is making it difficult to trust and provide scholarships to actually aid deserving students. Many students in my university have taken scholarships having good grades and showing their miserable conditions. Asking them about the use of scholarship amount, it was told that shopping was done by scholarship holder student because there was annual university function in next week. Another student told that he has purchased a new iPhone to sustain integrity among other friends.
There are many cases regarding such issues and misuse of scholarships amount by the students. The amount given for fee payment, hostel dues or to purchase degree essentials are abused other than serious academic engagement.
Another incident happens to face by me, by a student who has received a no of scholarships due to his excellent marks. This amount was given to the student by applying for a merit-based scholarship. The student qualified for that and received a handsome amount from the authority. Instead of using that amount for its fee payment in a reputed institution, the student had a foreign tour and set a luxury room for living. At the time of exams, there was no amount left for fee payment and admission was frozen. Both parents and the student itself were now at hand to mouth to carry on the study of that student. These are all genuine stories where I have given no reference, name, or identification for those students to maintain their integrity in society. These kinds of stories are everywhere, all over the country, all over the world.
Organizations are working for the betterment of the students and trying to help them to set the future. These organizations are trying their best to leave no stone unturned. But such kinds of students are abolishing the standards of society. They are grasping the rights of deserving students.
The organization should not hand over the scholarship amount to the student instead it should be submitted to the management of their academic organization with proof for which the amount has been used.
I am not against the scholarship program. These programs are helping poor students and making the country proud. Employees and CEOs or such organizations either they are private or government sectors are helping the nation to bring it on an international standard and educating the nation. But merit-based scholarships are often abused. So there should be a proper mechanism to ensure the right use of scholarship amount.
Another suggestion in this regard is, students who are getting merit-based scholarships should be properly checked that either they need money or not? If they are not money deserving and already well settled, they should be awarded any other reward for their encouragement and that money should be saved for deserving students quota, who can’t study better due to their financial needs. They work with study and get lower marks than 80%. As they are engaged to meet their financial needs. If they are given proper time to study they can improve their marks and can perform better in studies so that there are more educated citizens. I have seen many cases where the students work and study together and also they are average intelligent. This kind of student needs time to study and get good marks. But when they have no time to study they do not perform well. And consequently, they do not get and scholarships because organizations have set a criterion of marks percentages. Ultimately, no time to study, no good grades, and no scholarship forces them to leave their education.
This is an alarming situation for a country. The organizations should give focus on this side of reality so that there should be every child of Pakistan can get an education at least till graduation. Average education is better than no education.
