‘UK committed to promoting higher education for Pak women’

ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom is committed to promoting quality higher education, particularly for women and girls in Pakistan, Alison Blackburne, British deputy high commissioner, said on Thursday.

He said this while welcoming back a reception virtually in honour of the Pakistani scholars, who were awarded the prestigious Chevening and Commonwealth scholarship 2020-21. The deputy HC said: “We have worked hard over the years to encourage more women to apply for Chevening scholarships, and more than half of the scholars last year were women. The scholars returning from their year of study have benefitted from the world class education and also had the opportunity to learn more about the UK. They are part of the deep people-to-people ties, which we are celebrating this year marking 75 years of UK-Pakistan relations.”

He welcomed the Pakistani scholars who returned from the UK after completing a fully funded one-year master’s programme and congratulated them on completing their master’s degree, welcoming them into the British alumni family, which has around 10,000 members across Pakistan. The event was attended by the officials of the British High Commission, returning scholars, and Chevening alumni.

Chevening and Commonwealth scholarships bring together some of the brightest minds from across the world to the UK’s renowned universities, where they are able to realise their educational aspirations and experience all that the UK has to offer.

The scholarship not only brings immediate benefits to the scholars, but also delivers long-term benefits for both Pakistan and the UK. Chevening is the UK government’s scholarship programme. Since 1983, around 2,000 Pakistani students have been awarded the Chevening scholarship. The online application window will open next in August to receive applications for the next academic year 2023-24.

According to the British HC, it supports inclusion, education and opportunity for all as over the years, it has been making efforts to encourage more women to apply, as a result of which the female scholars have risen from just six percent in 2013 to around 60 percent last year.

Anyone who has the ambition, curiosity, a clear vision for the future and the ability to achieve goals should apply for the Chevening scholarship, the British HC said, adding the selected scholars will join a community of over 50,000 alumni worldwide.

The British HC said that the prominent Chevening female alumni include first female judge in Gilgit-Baltistan High Court Amna Zamir Shah, Chairperson Special Talent Exchange Programme (STEP) Abia Akram, senior journalist Fifi Haroon, former members of the National Assembly of Pakistan Yasmeen Rehman, Asiya Nasir and sitting MNA Nafeesa Shah.

In 2022, around 3,000 potential candidates applied for the Chevening scholarship in Pakistan. The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) provides the main UK government scholarship scheme led by the international development objectives. The CSC operates within the framework of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP), which was established in 1959 by an Act of Parliament. The CSC uses rigorous procedures to ensure that its programmes promote equity and inclusion, reward merit, and deliver widespread access, especially to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The FCDO is CSC’s lead department and main sponsor, funding awards exclusively for the candidates belonging to the low and middle-income countries.