Islamabad - An amount of Rs6.8 billion was paid to students under Prime Minister’s Fee Re-Imbursement Scheme during last four years.

A total beneficiaries scheme 137,672 students from across the country during last four years.

According to official sources, “The scheme was aimed at encouraging the pursuit of higher education by students from less developed areas through the financing of their tuition fees paid directly to universities.”

The scheme was only valid for the Higher Education Commission recognized public sector degree awarding institutions he said.

Students who were newly admitted to public sector universities in Spring/Fall session were required to apply through online student web portal system by the given deadline of HEC. The focal persons of university further later approve/ disapprove `newly registered’ students the given deadline of HEC. After scrutiny the data and look for any discrepancies and ineligible students, HEC ensure the payments to the students according to fee structure of the university he added.

Saleem Khan, a student said that it was one of the best schemes of the government to facilitate students’ higher education. He said that it was a really good initiative to encourage students healing from far-flung less developed areas.

Meanwhie, the government has so far released Rs 322.763 million for different projects of Ministry of National Food Security and Research under its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2017-18.

The government in its federal budget 2017-18 had allocated an amount of Rs 1614.266 million for different development projects for the uplift of the agriculture sector of the country.

An amount of Rs 103.725 million was released for risk-based control of foot and mouth disease in Pakistan as against the total allocation of Rs 134.920 million.

Meanwhile, the government has provided Rs 100 million for the promotion of olive cultivation on a commercial scale in the country in order to promote the edible oil production, where as the government has allocated Rs 500 million for the projects in its PSDP of the current financial year.

Under PSDP 2017-18, the government has also released Rs 56.862 million for national pesticide residue monitoring system as against the total allocation of Rs 284.308 million. The government has released Rs. 4 million for the establishment of animal quarantine station at Gwadar (Phase-II) in order to exploit the livestock potential development of the Balochistan Province.

An amount of Rs 3.843 million was released for the establishment of horticulture research institute Khuzdar, Balochistan for promoting the sector in the province.