US probing Harvard over financial aid programmes

WASHINGTON: The US department of justice (DoJ) said on Monday it launched a probe reviewing whether some Harvard University financial aid programmes were discriminatory. The probe is to determine whether its China-based financial aid programmes and practices exclude American-citizen students, the department said.Harvard said on Monday it “does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin in allocating financial aid”. A university spokesperson said the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Ivy League school was reviewing the DOJ’s latest letter to Harvard and would engage with govt on the topic.US law requires universities to report donations from foreign sources exceeding $250,000 in a year. Harvard has previously said it has filed reports for decades “as part of its compliance with the law.”The school has also previously cast Trump administration probes as “retaliatory actions against Harvard for its refusal to surrender our independence and constitutional rights.” A deal to resolve the Trump administration’s broader probes against Harvard remains elusive.The Trump administration has targeted universities with probes and funding suspension threats over a range of issues. These include pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza, transgender policies and climate programmes. Last month, a judge blocked the Trump administration from implementing a plan to bar foreign nationals from entering the US to study at Harvard.(This is a Reuters story)