By Our Correspondent
LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif launched Phase-II of the largest scholarship program in the history of Pakistan: Chief Minister Honhar Scholarship Program, under which educational expenses of 30,000 students annually and 120,000 students in next four years will be paid by the Government. She said,”Under this Scholarship Program, talented students can pursue higher education from the best institutions without worrying about their financial situation.” She added,”Punjab government is responsible for paying 100% of the educational expenses of successful students under the Program.”
Madam Chief Minister noted while attending the Honhar Scholarship ceremony at one of the renowned educational institutions of Islamabad: FAST National University of Computer and Engineering Science,”Students of 65 universities, 12 medical and dental colleges, and 359 colleges in Punjab are receiving Chief Minister Honhar Scholarships.” She said,”Students of 68 subjects/disciplines will be able to meet their educational expenses in the form of scholarships under the Program.”She added,”Students under the age of 22 with a domicile of Punjab will be eligible for the Honhar Scholarship.” She highlighted,”Monthly income of parents of the eligible student should be less than Rs 300,000 per month.”
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said,”In order to ensure transparency in the Scholarship Program, all applications were received and processed through an online portal.” She added,”In addition to the committee of each educational institution, the scrutiny process was also carried out by a provincial-level committee, and the entire process was supervised by a steering committee chaired by the Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.”
Madam Chief Minister highlighted,”The first ceremony of the Honahar Scholarship Program was held at the University of Punjab, in which scholarships were awarded to 2473 students, whereas in the 2nd ceremony held at FAST University Islamabad, scholarships will be distributed among a total of 2570 students of Rawalpindi Division.” She said,”Under the Honahar Scholarship Program, 1886 students of UET Lahore were awarded scholarships.” She added,”1660 scholarships are for the students of public sector universities, while 637 scholarships are for the students of federal universities, which will be distributed among the students of private sector universities.”
