ISLAMABAD   -   The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is offering fully funded undergraduate scholarships for students of Gilgit-Baltistan to study in any public sector university across Pakistan.  

Students who have passed their intermediate examination and are less than 22 years of age on the closing date of application can apply for this scholarship. The students already enrolled in the undergraduate programmes after Fall 2023 are also eligible. The programme aims to bridge the educational gap of less served areas by ensuring that students from such areas enjoy the same opportunities for academic advancement as those from more urbanised areas.

The scholarship covers tuition fee, hostel fee, a monthly stipend, and books and travelling allowance. So far, around 250 students belonging to Gilgit-Baltistan have been placed in universities across Pakistan for their undergraduate studies. Deadline for the current batch’s application is September 30, 2024.

To encourage maximum students to avail this opportunity, an HEC team visited main campus of Karakoram International University (KIU) in Gilgit, KIU sub-campus in Hunza and University of Baltistan, Skardu. Awareness sessions were held for students to inform them about the significance and scope of this opportunity as well as providing them guidance to submit the online applications. Project Director HEC Javed Hassan Awan provided a detailed presentation to students on the application procedure. He informed the audience that that test of the applicants will be conducted in the mid of October, however exact date and time will be conveyed to students through email. He also informed the students about scholarship opportunities other than this scheme.

Speaking during these sessions, Adviser Raza Chohan highlighted the role of youth for country’s development and elaborated various HEC initiatives for facilitating youth so that they can effectively contribute for socio-economic growth of Pakistan. He said that this scholarship is one such dedicated program for supporting the youth of Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The Adviser encouraged the students to believe in their own potential and put in dedicated efforts to achieve their goals in life. “Set very clear educational goals and work hard to achieve excellence in your chosen field of studies.” HEC team also held meetings with the management and faculty of these universities and discussed how students can be motivated and guided to avail such opportunities. Raza Chohan appreciated KIU for already catering to a large student body through different scholarship schemes. Acting Vice Chancellor KIU Dr. Abdul Razzaq thanked HEC for launching a special scholarship program for the GB region, according to a press release.