QUETTA: The federal minister for finance Ishaq Dar on Wednesday launched the ‘prime minister’s fee reimbursement scheme for the less developed areas’ in Quetta.
The scheme costing Rs 1.2 billion is aimed at encouraging pursuit of higher education by students from less developed areas through financing of their tuition fees paid directly to universities.
The students doing post graduate studies from a Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) approved public sector educational institution and domiciled in interior Sindh, Southern Punjab, Balochistan, less developed areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA are eligible.
In his address at the launching ceremony, the finance minister expressed the government’s resolve to bring the deprived areas of the country at par with the developed cities through promoting quality education.
The finance minister said on the directive of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif various schemes have been launched to ensure education of the children in under privileged areas to upgrade their standard of education.
Dar said that overall 33,440 students of 59 districts of the country will be benefited from the scheme and will be able to get quality education. He said the scheme will continue during the tenure of present government. He said that Rs 1.2 billion have been allocated for this scheme in the current financial year.
The minister said that overall six schemes are being launched to education youth including Microfinance Scheme (Qarz-e-Hasna) to the underprivileged students and provision of laptops besides expanding Skilled Development and Youth Business Loan programs.
Moreover, he said that the government believes in providing equal opportunities to all citizen, therefore special attention is being laid on the development of education sector in Balochistan.
The finance minister who was the chief guest distributed cheques of fees among the students of less developed areas.
