LAHORE: The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) and several private universities signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at Arfa Karim Tower on Saturday to implement the Rs7bn CM Honahar Scholarship Programme 2024 for undergraduate students.

Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikander Hayat, PHEC Chairman Dr Shahid Munir, Higher Education Department (HED) Secretary Dr Farrukh Naveed, rectors from the top seven universities in Pakistan, representatives from private universities, including Dr Ali Cheema, Dr Aftab Ahmad Maroof, Sardar Aminullah Khan, Dr Usman and Dr Asad Hussain, attended the MoU signing ceremony.

Under this new initiative, scholarships amounting to Rs7bn will be awarded this year to deserving and talented students across Punjab. The scheme, set to run for seven years, is backed by a total budget of Rs131bn. The budget will see a 10 per cent increase each year to ensure the sustained financial support of students.

This programme will benefit 30,000 students from Punjab and provide them opportunities to pursue higher education at prestigious institutions.

PHEC, private varsities sign MoU for Honahar Scholarship programme

Previously, the scholarships were only provided to the students of public sector colleges and universities, but now the students from private universities have also been included in the programme. Institutions such as Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, LUMS, NUST, FAST, IBA Karachi, Aga Khan University, Karachi, and Comsats are among the beneficiaries.

As part of the programme’s implementation, universities will be responsible for scrutinising and selecting deserving students, while the PHEC will oversee the programme’s monitoring and evaluation.

The scholarship awards will be finalised by Nov 5 with an official distribution ceremony scheduled for Nov 15.

To ensure broad awareness and accessibility, the scholarship scheme will be advertised extensively through various channels, all public sector universities, social media, and electronic boards in collaboration with the Punjab Horticulture Authority.

Detailed information will also be made available on the websites of HED, PHEC and HEC, as well as on the admission portals of the institutions concerned.

The application process for the scholarships will be facilitated through a dedicated online portal, hosted by the Punjab Information Technology Board. Verification of student details will be conducted by the respective institutions, while PHEC will evaluate socio-economic parameters to verify the monthly family income of applicants, ensuring that only those with a family income of less than Rs300,000 per month are eligible.

The final merit list of successful applicants will be generated by PHEC, with scholarships awarded through an award committee.

The school education minister said financial assistance would be provided to deserving students to ensure access to quality education regardless of their financial background.

He emphasised that the scholarships would be awarded to talented students with Punjab domicile to enable them to pursue undergraduate education.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024