USAID, HEC training course ends

Islamabad
A two-day training on ‘Effective Financial Aid Offices for USAID -- Merit and Needs Based Scholarship Programme’ organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and USAID concluded here on Monday.
Over 35 representatives of Financial Aid Offices of 24 partner universities of USAID attended the training, which was aimed to improve effectiveness and efficiency of these offices in various facets such as communication skills, coordination and interaction with aspiring students regarding scholarships and procedure involving execution of the programme.
USAID Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Programme (MNBSP) is a $37 million scholarship programme offering fully-funded graduate and undergraduate degrees in 31 public and private universities in Pakistan. It is being implemented by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Fifty per cent of scholarships under the programme are reserved for meritorious and deserving female students.
Speaking at the concluding ceremony, HEC Executive Director Professor Dr. G Raza Bhatti highlighted various programmes of the HEC, including local and overseas scholarship projects and faculty & infrastructure development. He appreciated the support from the United States government and partner universities in promoting higher education in Pakistan and emphasised that focal persons, after attending the training, must implement the techniques and tools for efficient functioning of financial aid offices.
Dr. Garth Willis, deputy director of the USAID Education Office, was also present at the event. Speaking to the audience, he said that this training is a useful activity to create better understanding of programme’s objective among partner universities so that it can be implemented according to the criteria of merit and need.