Imran to launch 'largest ever' scholarship programme

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced that he would launch the counry's "largest ever needs-based" scholarship programme later in the da.

'Ehsaas for Students' is another project of the government's social welfare programme Ehsaas and aims to provide scholarships to about 200,000 students from lower income families over the next four years, Dawn news reported.

The government will award 50,000 scholarships every year, half of which will be granted to women, the prime minister said in a tweet.

"I will launch the largest ever needs-based undergraduate scholarship programme in the history of Pakistan today. 200,000 scholarships will be awarded over the next four years, 50,000 every year, 50 per cent of these for women to promote human capital development under my @Ehsaas_Pk umbrella," the premier said in a tweet on Monday morning.

The project aims to "ensure that no student is deprived of education because of financial need".

Scholarships will be awarded to students admitted to any public sector university "on merit", whose family income is "below poverty threshold".

The programme also encourages differently-abled students to apply and/or those who hail from rural or remote areas. The scholarship would cover the students' tuition fee and also provide them a stipend.

The deadline to apply for scholarships is December 10.