ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the Rehmatul-lil-Alameen (Peace Be Upon Him) Scholarship Programme in Islamabad on Thursday, Radio Pakistan reported.
The initiative, which will help enable students from impecunious strata access quality education at the undergraduate level, will be implemented in 129 public sector universities across the country.
An amount of Rs27.93 billion has been approved for the programme which will be utilised in the next five years.
The provinces are also pursuing the scholarship programme. In Punjab, an annual budget of Rs1 billion has been approved for the initiative while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has allocated Rs427 million.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the programme, the prime minister said that the federal government will spend Rs5.5 billion every year on 70,000 scholarships.
“No nation can progress without education,” Imran asserted, adding that the country cannot develop unless the powerful are brought under the rule of law.
He said that under the umbrella of the Ehsaas programme, several initiatives have been taken to provide relief to underprivileged segments of the society. He also said that the network of the Meals on Wheels programme will be expanded to the entire country.
He also commended the governments of Punjab and KP for deciding to provide incentivised healthcare coverage to their people.
The prime minister said the government would emerge victorious in its struggle for supremacy of law. He said that no country can move forward without bringing the powerful under the ambit of the law.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said that the scholarship is a nationwide programme and will be implemented in 129 universities across the country.
He said that 50 per cent scholarships will be given to women whilst two percent to differently-abled persons. He was confident that this programme will bring revolution in the educational sector.
Speaking on the occasion via video-link, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said that a mechanism has been developed so that the students can apply for the scholarship from the comfort of their homes.
In his remarks, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said that they support the federal government’s initiatives aimed at uplifting the education sector.
