ICT college students to get 2,500 laptops

Islamabad : As many as 2,500 high-achieving students of the government colleges in the Islamabad Capital Territory are set to get laptops under an initiative of the prime minister.

Launched in 2013-14, the Prime Minister’s Laptops Scheme is meant for ‘talented students’ with the objective of furthering the cause of research and education in the country and increasing the youths' access to information technology.

The small portable computers are given away to students of intermediate and degree programmes on merit, which is based on their results in the latest board examinations. They’re distributed to colleges on the basis of the number of applicants instead of enrolments.

The Higher Education Commission is the executing agency responsible for developing criteria, mechanism, modalities and a road map for procurement and distribution of laptops under the scheme. The ICT government colleges overseen by the Federal Directorate of Education will distribute until May 28 the laptops to their respective students selected for the scheme.

According to an official of the FDE, most of the laptops i.e. 359 will go to the Islamabad Model Postgraduate College for Girls, F-7/2 to be followed by the Islamabad Model Postgraduate College for Girls, F-7/4 with 214 laptops and Islamabad College for Boys, G-6/3 with 204 laptops.

Among other colleges getting laptops for high-achieving students are G-10/4 IMCG (196 laptops), F-6/2 ICG (190), Humak IMCG (165), F-10/2 IMCG (148), H-8/4 IMCC (144), H-8 IMC (126), F-6/2 IMCG (125), H-9 IMCB (108), F-7/4 IMCG (96), Bhara Kahu IMCG (81), H-9 Federal College of Education (76), I-8/3 IMCG (67), F-10/3 Islamabad Model College of Commerce for Girls (61), F-10/4 IMCB (53), I-14/3 IMCG (30), Sihala IMCB (29) and F-7/2 Federal Government College of Home Economics and Management Sciences (28).