Ration programme for poor on the cards

ISLAMABAD: The government has announced provision of ration through a programme to the poorest of poor segment of the society.

Addressing the launch of Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme here on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said a ration programme was also in the offing in which the poorest of poor families will be provided with flour, ghee, pulses, sugar and other necessities of life.

A new database is being created in the Ehsaas programme in order to target the real deserving people to benefit from these programmes, he said. The prime minister said the poor-friendly Ehsaas programme will bring a remarkable change in various areas of society and expressed hope that scholarships for deserving and talented students will give them an opportunity to excel in life.

He said 50,000 scholarships each year to undergraduates was a big step towards higher education. Imran said allocating quota for physically challenged persons and women was an indication that the government believed in inclusive policies for the country’s development.

He said women were builders of the family and the nation and this scholarship will bring them to the mainstream. The prime minister said that he had founded the NAMAL University in Mianwali fortechnical education to equip the youth of the area with skills in demand so that they could get jobs and change the economic situation of their families.

He said students from poor households were awarded scholarships to enable them to get education despite having poor socio-economic background. The prime minister said the Ehsaas program was derived from the concept of State of Madina. Under this concept, the state is taking responsibility of all the vulnerable segments of society, he added.

He said the Health Insaaf cards, langar khanas and other initiatives will make the dream of State of Madina true. He appreciated the work of Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar, who is taking initiatives to bring improvement in the life of the common man.

Addressing the event, Dr Sania Nishtar said this was the biggest scholarship programme in the history of the country being started under a joint venture of Benazir Income Support Programme and High Education Commission.

She said Rs5 billion will be allocated annually and 50,000 undergraduate students will be given scholarships each year along with the accommodation expenses. She said 50 percent scholarships will be given to female students and two percent to the physically disabled persons.

She said these scholarships will be given on need and merit basis in agriculture, arts and humanitarians, business education, engineering, medical, physical sciences and social sciences.

She said the HEC had provided scholarships to 30,000 undergraduates in last 14 years, while 50,000 scholarships will be given in a year under this programme, which was an exemplary step. This program will be further expanded in all four provinces including FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan, he added.