KPEF okays merit-based scholarships for 224 students

PESHAWAR: After complete digitization of the entire scholarship programme to ensure transparency, efficiency and merit, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Foundation (KPEF) has finalised the award of 224 scholarships to talented deserving students from across the province studying in the leading universities of the country.

Following the approval of the Board of Directors of the body, the KPEF introduced a completely digital scholarship process, which is the first initiative of its kind in the country. Envisioned and implemented by Managing Director KPEF Zariful Maani, the end-to-end online system, operated through a secure portal, ensured that every stage of the application and selection process remained transparent, traceable and merit-based.

A total number 3,669 applications had been received from 32 districts for the scholarships, including 2,935 applications for undergraduate - BS programs - and 734 for postgraduate - MS studies.

According to Zariful Maani, KPEF implemented a standardised and accountable selection process in collaboration with 30 top-ranked universities including Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI), National university for Science and Technology (NUST), FAST-National university, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, National College of Arts and others.

Applications were screened through a seven-step digital mechanism beginning with public advertisement and concluding with final disbursement of funds directly to the respective universities for onward distribution to students.

The multi-tiered review included interviews by Institutional Scholarship Award Committees, internal verification by KPEF, publication of provisional merit lists, a one-week appeal period and the final approval.

The final selection results showed that 122 scholarships were awarded to BS students - 64 male and 58 females - and 98 scholarships given to MS students with a gender balance of 49 male and 49 female awardees, reflecting the Foundation’s commitment to gender equity and regional consideration.

Zariful Maani said that special attention was focused on marginalised and vulnerable groups during the entire process. Out of 482 orphan applicants, 77 were selected, among 285 Huffaz-e-Quran), 26 were awarded scholarships. Ten students registered with social welfare programs were also given the support, while one student with a documented disability received a scholarship.

The selected students were not only deserving and hailing from disadvantaged group, but they were also talented and on top of the merit, the official said.

District-level participation showed significant share to areas like Charsadda, Chitral, Buner, Battagram, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Swabi and Mohmand, where the application-to-selection ratio remained the highest. However, some districts such as Tank, Tor Ghar and Hangu saw the lowest selections due to the lesser number of applications and merit-based filtering.

The eligible criteria for the scholarship were also clear and categorical. The applicants were required to have secured at least 70 percent marks or a 3.00 CGPA in their last examination, the criteria for the programme showed.

Candidates had to be domiciled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its merged districts and enrolled in the first year of an approved BS or MS program in recognized disciplines such as Engineering, Emerging Sciences, Management Sciences, General Sciences or Arts. The household income threshold was capped at Rs 160,000 per month. Furthermore, applicants benefiting from other scholarship schemes were deemed ineligible under this program to avoid duplication of support, Zariful Maani said.

He said that the digital platform of the foundation not only eliminated manual handling but also introduced a pioneering quantified merit system that automatically generated merit based on defined eligibility and need-based indicators. The system ensured fair and efficient scholarship allocation through a transparent dashboard interface monitored by both the foundation and partner institutions, he added.

The scholarship will be renewable annually, contingent upon the student maintaining the required academic performance, specifically a minimum of 3 CGPA or 70 percent marks and the students failing to meet this benchmark will risk discontinuation of their funding, he maintained.

“The digitized and quantified model is a replicable framework for other scholarship programs nationwide. It integrates institutional collaboration, technological efficiency and social equity. This would reform the public sector student support systems,” he added.

He further said that in order to provide financial assistance to the remaining applicants, the foundation has recently launched ‘adopt a scholar programme’ under which donations would be collected within the country and abroad.