LAHORE: Students of the Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme (PMYSDP) are still awaiting their two months stipends, which were promised to them by the government. The students have also completed their six months’ diploma courses, but the institution is still to clear their arrears. According to details, 73 students are in queue to get their monthly stipend of Rs 2,500 from December 2015 to February 2016. The course started on August 17, 2015 that ended February 17, 2016. These students were enrolled in different six-month diploma courses including fashion designing, dressmaking, textile designing and print designing at the University of Management and Technology (UMT), Lahore campus. PM’s Youth Skill Development Training Programme, which is being executed by the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), was offered to approximately 10 selected institutes in Lahore. PMYSDP was launched to enhance employment opportunities, alleviate poverty and to provide skilled workforce to large, medium and small-scale industries and to meet the international labour market standards. Its is pertinent to mention that NAVTTC had developed its own internal monitoring and evaluation system for observing, reporting and assessing the activities against the set targets for each training project in terms of financial and physical parameters as well as NAVTTC standards. However, the commission could not facilitate the students who are still facing financial problems despite installation of the evaluation system. According to monitoring mechanism for NAVTTC projects, fortnightly reports on overall project progress, monthly training data, fund utilisation/expenditure statement, project advisory committee feedback, regular correspondence with regional directorates/ institutes, three visits of training programme beside surprise visits, 90 percent attendance criteria for payment of stipend, toolkits and issuance of certificate, and regional directors review meeting at the headquarters from time to time were mandatory. Students, while talking to Daily Times, said that NAVTTC had promised to provide toolkits and other things during their course but UMT did not provide anything to them after the first two months, adding that even the monthly stipend of Rs 2,500 was not given to students on time. They said they regularly informed the concerned official of the institution about their problems, but he continuously made lame excuses and gave false assurances to them. Replying a query, the students said that they have been trying to raise these issues in front of the NAVTTC monitoring team but the institution’s management always stopped them from raising any issue. NAVTTC spokesperson Hammad told this scribe that all funds were released to the concerned institution on time and there was no delay from the institution. He said that all meters would be cleared next week and stipend would be distributed among the pass out students. NAVTTC would probe this matter of delay in stipends and would take action against the responsible persons, he added. UMT spokesman said that e-application was forwarded to the account office last week for the release of stipends but due to burden of internal matters, this issue was given priority. He said that account office would forward the application to high authority for signature in the next week and after getting approval, amount of the stipend would be distributed among the students.