Maryam launches second phase of scholarship programme

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sunday launched the Phase-II of the largest scholarship program in the history of Pakistan.

Under the Chief Minister Honhar Scholarship Program, educational expenses of 30,000 students annually and 120,000 students in the next four years will be paid by the government.

She said, “Under the scholarship program, talented students can pursue higher education from the best institutions without worrying about their financial situation. The Punjab government is responsible for paying 100% of the educational expenses of successful students under the program.”

Attending the Honhar scholarship ceremony at the FAST National University of Computer and Engineering Science, Islamabad, she noted, “The students of 65 universities, 12 medical and dental colleges and 359 colleges in Punjab are receiving the Chief Minister Honhar Scholarships.”

The students of 68 subjects/disciplines will be able to meet their educational expenses in the form of scholarships under the program.

The students under the age of 22 with a domicile of Punjab will be eligible for the Honhar Scholarship. She highlighted that monthly income of parents of the eligible student should be less than Rs30,000 per month.

The chief minister said, “In order to ensure transparency in the scholarship program, all applications were received and processed through an online portal.”

In addition to the committee of each educational institution, the scrutiny process was also carried out by a provincial-level committee, and the entire process was supervised by a steering committee chaired by the Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.

The first ceremony of the Honahar Scholarship Program was held at the University of Punjab, in which scholarships were awarded to 2,473 students. In the 2nd ceremony held at FAST University Islamabad, scholarships were distributed among 2,570 students of Rawalpindi Division.