Zubair Qureshi
Prime Minister Imran Khan is all set to give away need based Ehsaas undergraduate scholarships, the biggest ever in country’s history, in the first phase to the first batch of deserving bright students on Monday (today).
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has set aside Rs 24 billion for 4-year scholarships programme to support some 200,000 undergraduates under Ehsaas Programme.
Half of the scholarship recipients will be girls belonging to low income groups.
As part of the Ehsaas scholarships policy, 2% scholarships will be exclusively awarded to students with special needs.
The flagship programme of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government Ehsaas is being implemented across the country and according to the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety and Chairperson of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Dr Sania Nishtar these scholarships will cover 100% of the tuition fee and a living stipend of 4,000per month.
The geographical spread of the programme, according to Dr Sania Nishtar will be covering all four provinces, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).
Every year, 50,000 students from low-income families will be awarded scholarships for 4 to 5-year undergraduate degree programmes, she said.
The success and continuation of scholarship programme in future years will depend upon the efficacy, maintenance of academic performance by the students and the evaluation of the desired results.
The programme will be overseen by the Ehsaas Scholarships Steering Committee, co-chaired by Chairman HEC and Chairperson BISP.
According to the poverty alleviation division, the scholarship programme seeks to eliminate inequality in access to higher education.
“Unlike past scholarships that were aimed at MS or PhD programmes, Ehsaas Scholarships focus on the most critical segment namely the 4-year undergraduate programme, which contributes the most to income potential,” said Dr Sania Nishtar.
All students in Pakistan who are admitted to a four-year degree programme in an HEC-recognized public sector university or its affiliated college, with family income below a poverty threshold (to be fixed every year by the Ehsaas Scholarships Steering Committee) are eligible to receive the scholarship.
The programme is open to students in all major fields of education, namely agriculture, arts and humanities, business education, engineering, medical, physical sciences, and social sciences.
The final award list is posted publicly at the university, and is also made available on the HEC website as well as the university’s website. Selected students have to open bank accounts, and stipends are deposited directly into the accounts.
