Ehsaas undergraduate program to promote human capital development: Dr Sania.

ISLAMABAD -- Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar has termed the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Project as highly transformational, as it is the largest ever need-based scholarship programme to promote human capital investment.

She said this in telephonic address to the 26th Vice Chancellors Committee meeting convened by Dr. Muhammad Ali as its Chairman to brief them about the government's upcoming Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarships. The formal launch of the programme by the Prime Minister is planned for next week, she added.

The heads of public sector universities across the country attended the meeting at HEC Secretariat on Saturday. Majority of them joined through video link from their campuses.

She said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is keen that this programme should benefit maximum number of students across the country and that the government will allocate more resources for it in the coming years.

Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) gave a detailed briefing to the Vice Chancellors on the newly conceptualized scholarships, entitled Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Project. He said the Scheme is the largest ever undergraduate scholarship initiative of Pakistan seeking to award 50,000 scholarships per year to undergraduate students from low-income families.

He said that this is an outcome of mutual understanding between HEC and Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) under the auspices of the government's Ehsaas Programme.

In the last 14 years, HEC has awarded a total of around 30,000 undergraduate scholarships, while this Scheme will give 50,000 scholarships every year. It is a huge paradigm shift. 'The objective is that no child should remain deprived of education due to financial constraints.'

The Project will award Ehsaas scholarships to low-income students enrolled in four and five-year undergraduate programmes. All students from low-income families studying in undergraduate programs in public sector universities are eligible to apply.

Selection will be based on need-cum-merit, i.e., on the basis of...