Pakistan offers 3,000 scholarships to Afghan students

Information adviser says 795 Afghan students would begin their studies in the first phase

ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan will award around 3,000 scholarships to Afghan students under a four-year program, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in the federal capital, she said the scholarships would be offered in phases and every year students of different categories will benefit from the programme.

The special assistant said that Afghan students, who are capable and have a passion to pursue their educational careers, are being invited to get higher education in different institutes of Pakistan in various fields, including medicine, engineering, agriculture, and management and computer science.

56 Afghan students get higher education scholarships in Pakistan

The announcement came a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani completed his two-day state visit to the country.

Under the scholarship programme, overall 600 students would be given admission in different medical and dental colleges while as many would be given admission in different engineering universities.

“In the first phase, around 795 Afghan students would visit the country this year for studies,” said the special assistant, adding that the scholarships are a gift from the government of Pakistan.

Pakistan opens doors to 3,000 Afghan students

The Afghan students will also get admission in different masters and Ph.D. programmes in different universities across the country.

Awan said the scholarships will cover living allowance, book allowance, hostel dues and tuition fees of the Afghan students.

“The aim of the scheme is to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan and to enhance people-to-people contacts between the two neighbouring countries,” she added.