Pakistan is an Islamic welfare state working to ensure basic necessities to the people. The Imran Khan government has been doing its best for public welfare despite the difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic and a weak economy. The PTI government is trying to address the inadequacy of housing by building shelter homes. Such homes have been built in Islamabad, Punjab and K-P, and more will be built in Sindh and Balochistan. This needs more funds, so the Senate Standing Committee on Social Security and Poverty alleviation has asked for an increase in Pakistan Baitul Mal budget. Recently, the panel briefed members of the relevant committee on the Panahgah scheme and the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme.
The PMB managing director informed the committee that shelter homes were being built and run with the cooperation of philanthropists where food and accommodation were provided. A representative of the HEC apprised the panel that students enrolled in undergraduate programmes at 125 public-sector universities of the country with a family income of less than Rs45,000 could apply for Ehsaas scholarship. Under the programme, 50,000 students from low-income families are to receive scholarships every year. The scholarship includes 100% tuition fee and a monthly stipend of Rs4,000. In the academic year 2019-20, as many as 50,762 students were provided scholarship worth Rs4.827 billion. The Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Online Portal has been launched for the academic year 2020-2021.
The total budget of Baitul Mal is Rs5 billion out of which Rs3 billion were given to hospitals for the treatment of patients in the previous financial year, and the rest was spent on salaries. This calls for increasing the Baitul Mal budget. The government should ensure that universities don’t produce graduates that claim to know everything and know nothing.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2020.
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