ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced a need-based scholarship programme for the students that could not pursue their education because of financial constraint, says a press release issued here on Monday.

The programme is meant for the students who are studying in first professional year and have secured admission or are expected to get admission in specific disciplines of medical and life sciences offered by top universities of Pakistan.

The disciplines for which the scholarship slot has been allocated are pharmacy (150 scholarships), bio-technology and bio-medics (75 scholarships), genetics (55 scholarships), and medical & life sciences (20 scholarships). This programme is specifically for under-graduate and graduate levels and do not cover M.Phil or Ph.D level of studies.

The universities selected for this particular programme includes University of Karachi; University of Sindh, Jamshoro; Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro; University of the Punjab, Lahore; Government College University, Lahore; Lahore College for Women University, Lahore; Islamia University, Bahawalpur; Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan; University of Sargodha; Government College University, Faisalabad; University of Peshawar; University of Balochistan, Quetta.

Students, who have secured admission or expected to get admission in the above mentioned disciplines and universities during academic session of 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-08, are eligible to apply for the scholarships.

The scholarship covers full tuition fee, living expense, transportation, books and other ancillary requirements.