PESHAWAR: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded scholarships to 100 talented students enrolled in the two-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and four-year Bachelor Degree in Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.

“We are delighted to see such bright students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata who have dedicated themselves to a life of learning, scholarship and service,” said Mohammad Tariq Khan, USAID senior education adviser.

Speaking on behalf of USAID mission director Gregory Gottlieb, he said that they were confident that the seeds being planted today through those scholarships would bear fruits for the benefit of the region and the country.

According to a press release, Provincial Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Mohammad Atif also spoke on the occasion and thanked the United States for providing scholarships to deserving students.

The scholarship programme is part of $165 million USAID-funded Pakistan Reading Project, which works closely with 28 universities and 116 elementary teachers colleges throughout Pakistan.

Assistance is customised, based on the priorities and plans as determined by each province and region, and includes system strengthening, policy reforms and training for better management of teacher education programmes.

The project also works closely with Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, provincial departments of education and teacher training institutes across the country to achieve these goals.

To attract qualified and talented students into the HEC-approved degree programmes, the Pakistan Reading Project will grant 6,454 full-tuition USAID merit scholarships.

These scholarships are a part of the comprehensive education programme that the United States implements in the country in partnership with the government of Pakistan.

The programme includes building or rehabilitating more than 850 schools; establishing centres for advanced education studies at four Pakistani universities; expanding English skills for more than 5,000 low-income students; and awarding more than 4,800 scholarships for university students to pursue education.