ISLAMABAD: The federal government has extended the Rs2,500 per month M Phil allowance to employees holding degrees declared equivalent to M Phil by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), with effect from July 17, 2026.
According to a Finance Division office memorandum, the benefit, previously restricted to holders of HEC-recognised M Phil degrees, will now also be available to employees possessing an equivalent qualification recognised by HEC, subject to production of an equivalence certificate.
The Finance Division said the allowance is admissible at 25 percent of the existing PhD allowance, amounting to Rs2,500 per month, under the conditions prescribed in its July 1, 2016 office memorandum.
The latest decision effectively removes the earlier restriction under which possession of an HEC-equivalent qualification alone did not qualify an employee for the M Phil allowance.
The Finance Division had clarified in November 2025 that its policy specifically covered the M Phil degree and that HEC equivalence was, at that time, primarily recognised for purposes of recruitment or admission to universities. Holders of equivalent qualifications were therefore not eligible for the allowance under the existing policy.
The latest memorandum has now broadened the eligibility criteria by explicitly allowing the benefit to those who acquire or possess an equivalent HEC-recognised degree, provided they furnish an equivalence certificate.
The allowance was originally introduced with effect from July 1, 2016, for employees who acquire or possess an HEC-recognised M Phil degree. The original policy fixed the allowance at Rs2,500 per month and laid down certain conditions for its payment.
Under the existing conditions, the M Phil allowance is not admissible to employees already receiving PhD allowance of Rs10,000 per month. It is also not admissible to those who had already received the benefit of advance increments for possessing or acquiring an M Phil degree before December 1, 2001.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026