Punjab University Teachers Disappear After Getting Foreign Scholarships

Punjab University is facing a major controversy after 12 of its faculty members failed to return to their posts following government-funded scholarships for PhD studies abroad.

These scholarships were part of a programme designed to support higher education and academic development, under which 56 university teachers were sent to pursue doctoral degrees overseas. Each recipient had agreed to serve at the university for at least five years after completing their studies.

However, 12 teachers disappeared after completing or partially completing their programmes and failed to resume duties. The total amount lost to the university runs into hundreds of millions of rupees, prompting swift action from the authorities.

The institution will also write to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to help trace and retrieve the outstanding amounts. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior have been contacted to block the passports of the individuals involved.

The following faculty members have been named in the case:

• Farah Sattar (GIS Center) – Rs. 7 million
• Syed Mohsin Ali (GIS Center) – Rs. 14 million
• Kiran Ayesha (Institute of Administrative Sciences) – Rs. 10 million
• Rabia Ibad (MMG Department) – Rs. 9 million
• Khawaja Khurram Khurshid (IQTM) – Rs. 84 million
• Shamaila Ishaq (Hailey College of Commerce) – Rs. 16.1 million
• Usman Rahim (Center for Coal Technology) – Rs. 72 million
• Salman Aziz (College of Engineering) – Rs. 9 million
• Muhammad Nawaz (GIS) – Rs. 72 million
• Javeria Iqbal (PUCIT) – Rs. 6 million
• Seemab Ara (Administrative Sciences) – Rs. 10 million
•  Samia Mahmood – Rs. 11.6 million

All 12 teachers have now been terminated from service. The university is under pressure to recover the money and tighten its scholarship monitoring system to prevent such incidents in the future.