'PAKISTAN -EHSAAS SCHOLARSHIPS- PYRAMID' : 50,000-YEAR

ISLAMABAD : Overall, 50,000 scholarships will be given every year to enhance financial access to higher education for the deserving.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will award ''Need-based Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarships'' to the first batch of deserving students on March 2, Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division announced on Friday.

This four year, Rs 24 billion initiative will support 200,000 students from low income backgrounds.

As part of the Ehsaas scholarship policy, 2 pc scholarships will be exclusively awarded to students with special needs.

Overall, 50,000 scholarships will will be given every year to enhance financial access to higher education for the deserving.
The continuation of scholarship in following years will depend upon the maintenance of  academic performance.

The need and merit-based scholarship covers tuition fee as well as living stipend.

The prime objective of Ehsaas scholarship's programme is to ensure that no eligible student is deprived of higher education because financial need.
The programme is unique as it reflects a historic shift in scholarship policy of the government.

Unlike past scholarships that aimed at MS or PhD level programmes, this project specifically focuses on undergraduate education, which is the surest way of rising out of poverty.

Following the official launch of the Ehsaas undergraduate scholarships by the prime minister in November last, the Higher Education Commission online portal had been opened for opened for applications till December last.

As many as 132, 192 undergraduate students, among them 49,841 girls applied for scholarships for the academic year 2019-20 under the first phase of the project.

The World Students Society thanks author Amin Ahmed/ Dawn Newspaper.