HEC awards undergraduate scholarships to 275 students

ISLAMABAD: The scholarship committee of the undergraduate scholarship programme for Gilgit-Baltistan met at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat to approve the selection of the third batch of students who will pursue their undergraduate studies in different public sector universities in Pakistan.

The meeting, chaired by Executive Director HEC Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum, was attended yesterday by the Vice Chancellor, Karakoram International University Gilgit, Dr Atta Ullah Shah, Vice Chancellor, University of Baltistan Skardu, Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan, Director General (Scholarships) HEC, Ms Aayesha Ikram, Assistant Chief (S&T) Planning Commission, Mr Muhammad Zaheer, Director Education (Colleges), Mr Juma Gul, and Mr Javed Hassan Awan, Project Director (GB Scholarships) HEC.

For the intake of the third batch, HEC advertised the scholarship in August 2023. The test was conducted in November.

A total of 100 students have been provisionally selected on merit, and among them, 37 are female students, the state news agency reported.

It is pertinent to mention here that the undergraduate scholarship programme for students at GB is part of the underdevelopment package for Gilgit Baltistan.

This programme is envisioned to provide financial assistance to GB’s students aspiring for undergraduate studies at HEC-recognised public sector universities in Pakistan.

The programme was started in 2021, and until now, 275 students have been awarded this scholarship.