Peshawar        -       Interviews were conducted for the distribution of scholarships among deserving students of BS 4 years and MS Nursing 2 years of Khyber Medical University-Institute of Nursing Sciences (KMU-INS), Peshawar with the financial assistance of National Endowment Scholarships for Talent (NEST).

Under the scheme, NEST scholarships will be distributed among 50 students of KMU-INS BSN 4 year degree programme and 30 students of MSN programme. 

According to details, under this scheme selected deserving cum talented students of KMU-INS will be paid Rs.41,000 per semester as tuition fee as well as Rs.12,000 per month in terms of accommodation and food as per the standard set by NEST.  

Expressing his views while chairing the selection meeting, Prof. Dr. Zia-ul-Haq, vice chancellor KMU, said that this year had been declared as the year of nursing under the World Health Organization in the light of which the government was giving special importance to the field of nursing. “Today under the auspices of INS interviews for the distribution of NEST Scholarships to BSN and MSN students is a key step in this direction,” he said.

Prof. Dr. Zia-ul-Haq said that Pakistan was one of the leading countries in the production of qualified and professionally sound doctors and there was also a lot of potential and opportunity to produce best nurses, but unfortunately this important sector, which was considered the backbone of the health sector in the past, had been overlooked. He said improvement in the quality of nursing education would also improve nursing care.  

Vice Chancellor KMU said equal opportunities for most deserving but talented students had been provided to all institutes, so talented students who wanted to pursue nursing as career but could not afford to do so could benefit from this programme. 

He said that KMU was providing financial assistance to students studying in various programmes under various scholarship schemes and by arranging a total of 80 scholarships for nursing students with the financial assistance of NEST which would not only help to meet the educational expenses of the most deserving students, but it would also reduce burden on parents regarding their children’s educational expenses.