PRIME Minister Imran Khan had launched the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme in November 2019. Under this scheme 200,000 scholarships would be awarded over four years to deserving students in 119 universities affiliated with the Higher Education Commission. Half of the scholarships were reserved for females.

Under this scheme, the HEC laid down that deserving students of families that earned Rs 45,000 or less per month per would be given scholarships of Rs50,000 per year.

The scholarship scheme estimated to cost Rs24 billion over four years was launched in October 2019. The registration process and interviews were completed by January 2020 respectively by the respective universities, and all formalities completed by the HEC. Since then the list of selected candidates has not been made public.

In the wake of Covid-19, the academic future of students is already at stake and many are in dire need of scholarships. The prime minister and the HEC chairman are requested to expedite the process and grant these scholarships to deserving candidates.

Imtiaz Essa Halepoto
Jamshoro

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2020