PESHAWAR: Dr Sania Nishtar, the special assistant to prime minister for social protection and poverty alleviation, has said that Ehsaas Scholarship Programme is not been only helping poor and needy students to complete their education but it is also a step towards alleviation of poverty.

She said that under the scheme, cheques worth Rs44 million were distributed among 341 students including 30 per cent female and 10 residents of tribal districts of various undergraduate programmes of the university.

Dr Sania expressed these views through video link on the occasion of distribution of cheques under the programme among undergraduate students of various disciplines at Khyber Medical University (KMU) on Wednesday.

KMU Vice-chancellor Prof Ziaul Haq and Health Secretary Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah were also present on the occasion.

Dr Sania said that youth were the real asset and future of the country and it was top priority of the government to facilitate them in all walks of life.

She said that the scholarship schemes of the previous governments were limited only to postgraduate students while the present government was awarding scholarships to millions of undergraduate students. She said that it was an innovative step in the field of education.

Dr Sania said that it was observed that financial support of intelligent but underprivileged students at the undergraduate level encouraged them and opened new avenues for the eradication of poverty.

Prof Ziaul Haq said that the purpose of the project was to encourage and support those students, who were studying in various programmes but belonged to poor families and were unable to pay their fees.

The scheme would reduce the burden on the poor parents in terms of their children’s educational expenses while enabling the talented students to show their skills in a more confident manner, he added.

Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah termed the programme an important step towards eradicating poverty by financing deserving intelligent students.

“We have a lot of expectations from our youth and it is hoped that they will continue their hard work and play their due role in making the future of the nation brighter,” he added.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2020