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Posted by Azahir in Nawaz Sharif Massive Corruption, NAWAZ SHARIF US & SAUDI AGENT on January 1st, 2017
The Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme (formerly CM’s laptop scheme) has now become a program that is being abused by most stakeholders, seriously impacting the intentions behind the entire scheme and uptake of education at higher levels.
We take a look at how much this scheme is been abused, and how it has affected the educational bottom line in Pakistan.
According to the promotional content that comes with the scheme, laptops were given through it are supposed to be used for educational purposes and are intended to help students in improving their studies.
The laptops were envisioned to “bring a paradigm shift in the current education and research culture in the country”.
Only students that score good grades and are just starting their higher education can apply for a laptop through the scheme.
As mentioned earlier, students need to apply themselves in order to get laptops through this scheme. They need to create a profile and the application needs to be approved by the university. Following that, the student is selected or refused based on their CGPA.
However, even though students get these laptops for their studies (the sole purpose of the scheme), it has been observed that many of them sell their laptops as soon as they get them.
Which begs the question, “Why to get the laptop at all?”
According to the terms and conditions of the scheme, the receiver of a laptop is not allowed to sell any of the gifted assets. The image below is from the online form a student fills and accepts before applying for a laptop.
As you can see, most laptops are being sold for between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000. A little bargaining can reduce the price by up 2-3K according to some users.
Head over to Hafeez Centre, Dubai Plaza or PakGamers and you will see several more laptops from PM’s scheme on sale.
Putting aside reasons of commercial interest aside, the students are essentially violating the agreement that they entered into the day they got these laptops. They were never meant to be sold off for few thousands only.
By violating these contracts, students lose the right to call the government corrupt, no matter which political party they support.
Additionally, if students do not require these laptops, they should not apply to get one. By getting these laptops, they are depriving someone who actually needs them (but can’t afford it) of their legitimate right.
It also wastes the government’s efforts and money on non-deserving students. At the very least, these students should give these laptops to those who need them.
Simply getting one to sell is the equivalent of fraud.
PM’s Laptop Scheme has often been criticized for being a front to buy out the youth by giving them free laptops.
Schemes like these also seem to be a gateway to make good headlines.
Why not offer students scholarships and discount their fees, the aspect which really matters to someone who is needy and is facing trouble in funding for his higher studies.
If someone is already scoring a high CGPA, does he/she really need a laptop or do they need support and better educational facilities to improve their capabilities?
Governments throughout the world encourage students with incentives. Usually, it is some sort of a scholarship which actually helps the student. Subsidizing university fees, funding for advanced and latest lab equipment should be the government’s focus if they want to uplift the educational standards of the country.
If the government really wants to promote education, it should offer scholarships to talented and needy students. More practical solutions can be explored.
To further add insult to injury, the laptops scheme has been plagued by corruption allegations since its inception. There have been reports on its corruption and mismanagement in the past as well.
Here are some of them:
Back in 2014, detailed report of Auditor General’s office revealed that laptop prices received sudden price hike from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 37,950 without any change in specifications or hardware.
This caused a loss of Rs. 2 billion to the national exchequer due to “unknown” reasons. Another Rs. 2 billion were diverted from School Education Department to
Higher Education Department’s laptop scheme violating the rules.
Furthermore, public officials managing the scheme gave “special” favors to the contractor, violating the contract in the process. On five occasions, a total of Rs. 1.6 billion was debited from the national treasury before receiving any of the ordered laptops.
Special Excise Duty is exempted on computer hardware including laptops. However, the contractor was paid Rs. 200 per laptop (1%) as excise duty without any reasons.
What’s more interesting is that due to the price hike, even if the excise duty was to be paid, it should have been Rs. 302. This alone caused a loss of Rs. 22 million.
The government was due to collect advance income tax at a rate of 3.5% of the Rs.4.1 billion paid to the contractor. That tax of Rs. 140 million was never deducted or recovered from the contractor M/S Inbox.
According to the contract, late delivery of laptops would be fined at a rate of 2% in liquidated damages. However, 80,000 laptops were delivered late yet only Rs 14 million of the Rs 45 million were recovered.
The Higher Education Department is exempt from paying any excise duty, advance tax or sales tax, yet Rs. 102 per laptop were paid to the contractor in the shape of “other taxes/duties” causing damages of Rs. 11 million.
Furthermore, the law prevents public universities from incurring any expenditure unless approved beforehand. Yet Rs. 1 million in distribution ceremonies and Rs. 28 million in distribution charges were incurred by certain institutions.
There have also been official reports of hundreds of laptops being allocated to students without considering the eligibility criteria.
Recently, another news story has popped up on several news agencies claiming that wide-scale irregularities have been witnessed in the laptop scheme yet again. Relatively newer phases of the scheme are yet to be investigated which might reveal similar news keeping the trend in the notice.
The laptop scheme has its fair share of critics and admirers. However, the facts have been provided here to better inform readers about making their own conclusions regarding the PM Laptop Scheme.
In short, the students are violating their contracts and selling their laptops, the government isn’t focusing on education to practically improve the educational system, the laptops scheme fails in its envisioned aim of helping the needy and talented students,
Moreover with corruption scandals popping up regularly through the government’s accountant general’s official reports, perhaps the stakeholders need to go back to the drawing board and chart out a program that raises education standards all across the country in real essence.
Posted by admin in PAKISTAN STRONG on January 1st, 2017
Posted by Dr. Salman in Bigotry, Hate, ISLAM=PEACE & BROTHERHOOD AMONG MANKIND, ISLAMOPHOBES, Islamophobia in America, Racism, State Sponsored Islamophobic Hate Speech on January 1st, 2017
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Posted by admin in Bigotry, Hate, ISLAM=PEACE & BROTHERHOOD AMONG MANKIND, ISLAMOPHOBES, Islamophobia in America, Racism on January 1st, 2017
Inspire’s Sara Khan, US presidential candidate Donald Trump, Channel 4 News reporter Cathy Newman and the BBC sitcom Citizen Khan are among the nominees for the 2016 Islamophobia awards.
The event on March 5 is organized by the Islamic Human Rights Commission and features a satirical awards ceremony where those who’ve been the most Islamophobic over the past year are rewarded for their efforts.
The event aims to subvert Islamophobia through comedy while simultaneously addressing a serious and significant issue in a creative manner.
The awards are split into four separate categories: UK, International, News/Media and Film/Book/TV Series. Nominees were submitted by the general public who had the chance to chose who they felt had displayed prominent symptoms of Islamophobia.
Familiar names crop up in the “UK” category with the likes of David Cameron and last year’s “Overall Islamophobe” winner Theresa May but there are new faces too with appearances by OFSTED head Michael Wilshaw and the “counter-extremism organisation” Inspire.
Reasons cited include Cameron’s alienating rhetoric, May’s police-state policies and Wilshaw’s suggestion to ban face veils in schools.
Nominees in the “International” category are literally spread across the globe with the inclusion of Burmese politicians Aung San Suu Kyi who has ignored the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya minority in the region; Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson who have both been comfortable attacking Muslims during their respective campaigns for president; and the government of Tajikistan where police have shaved nearly 13,000 people’s beards and closed more than 160 shops selling traditional Muslim clothing in the past year.
“News Media” features last year’s clear winner Fox News; Sky News’ Kay Burley for her easy and direct dismissal of the suggestion that what she was saying was both racist and Islamophobic; and journalist Cathy Newman for her infamous incident with an unfortunate South London mosque.
This year also sees numerous television series nominated in the “Book/Movie/TV” category as well as Glenn Beck’s latest book and the newly-released movie “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”
Winners will be highlighted during the spoof awards ceremony which will be taking place on Saturday, 5 March 2016 at The Clay Oven in Wembley. The ceremony will be accompanied by live entertainment and stand-up comedy.
The general public can purchase tickets here and they can vote for who wins here.
David Cameron
Maajid Nawaz
Katie Hopkins
William Shawcross
INSPIRE
David Coburn
Mona Siddiqi
Theresa May
Metropolitan Police
Michael Wilshaw
INTERNATIONAL:
Donald Trump
Ben Carson
Charlie Hebdo
Bill Maher
Marine le Pen
Karamay, China
Geert Wilders
Aung San Suu Kyi
Rupert Murdoch
Tajikistan
NEWS & PRINT/ONLINE MEDIA:
Daily Mail
Fox News
The Sun
Ann Coulter
Isha Sesay and John Vause; CNN
Cathy Newman
The Daily Caller
Breitbart
Sam Harris
Kay Burley; Sky News
MOVIE/BOOK/TV SERIES:
Homeland
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
It IS About Islam: Exposing the Truth About ISIS, Al Qaeda, Iran, and the Caliphate by Glenn Beck
Tyrant
The State of Affairs
Citizen Khan
Arrow
Marvel’s Agents Of Shield