PM Imran Khan. PHOTO: PTI
Part of the premier’s Ehsaas Programme being helmed by Dr Sania Nishtar under the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, the scholarships aims to “enhance access to higher education by awarding 50,000 scholarships” to undergraduate students from underprivileged families and areas over the next four years.
The scholarships will cover tuition and other fees, plus a stipend to cover essential expenses. The continuation of scholarship in future years will depend upon the maintenance of academic performance by the student.
The federal government has set aside Rs20 billion for the programme.
It may be noted here that 50 per cent of scholarships are reserved for female students while two per cent are for students with special needs. The program will be overseen by the Ehsaas Scholarships Steering Committee, co-chaired by Chairman HEC and Chairperson BISP.
What is the Ehsaas undergraduate scholarship programme?
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 programs, Ehsaas Scholarships focus on the most critical segment namely the 4-year undergraduate program, which contributes the most to income potential.”
Eligibility
All students in Pakistan who are admitted to a four-year degree program 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 program is open to students in all major fields of education, namely agriculture, arts and humanities, business education, engineering, medical, physical sciences, and social sciences.
Indonesia offers scholarships to Pakistani students
How to apply?
The ministry has created an online portal to receive applications from undergraduate students registered at public universities.
The applications will be considered only when all materials are properly uploaded on the national portal. In case of difficulty in uploading supporting documents, hard copies may be submitted to the financial aid offices, who will make arrangements for uploading them.
You can apply here.
How does it work?
The HEC as well as all participating universities will announce the scholarships and invite applications, together with necessary background documents, i.e., grade sheets, income or salary statements of the applicants' families, household expenditures, type of accommodation, and type and value of physical assets, if any.
The university's scholarships award committee will make provisional decisions on the basis of documents received, and recommend them for ratification by the programme steering committee.
The provisional decisions will be confirmed after formal ratification as well as follow up scrutiny, including income verification, verification of supporting documents, and personal interviews by the scholarship award committee.
The disbursement of the scholarship will take place directly from the fund. The stipend will be deposited electronically into the bank accounts of the student, while tuition and fees will be paid directly to the participating university. All recipients will be required to open bank accounts.
HEC and BISP have set up a joint M&E framework to ensure that the programs are running in a transparent, equitable, and accountable manner. The M&E system will report directly to the Ehsaas Scholarship Steering Committee.
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