ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Over 200,000 people have benefitted from different scholarship schemes during the last 10 years, said Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Mukhtar Ahmad on Tuesday.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed told the state-run news agency that these scholarships had been given to needy and shining students both at national and international level in different categories.
While talking about HEC’s initiatives and achievements during last 13 years, he explained that how government’s commitment helped to develop higher education sector and a considerable increase in funding has brought remarkable changes in the sector.
The Chairman said that primary focus of HEC has remained towards increasing access to quality higher education as around 65 percent of population is below the age of 25 years.
“We believe that investment in our youth will lead to development of human resource in all disciplines ultimately helping in socio-economic uplift of the country, he added.
HEC, he said, has initiated a number of programmes for faculty, research scholars and students to harness their potential.”
“Areas having direct impact on country’s socio-economic growth have been prioritized. Encouraging and funding innovative and relevant research, entrepreneurship, ensuring adherence to quality assurance criteria, developing physical and technological infrastructure, improving governance at universities are some of the key areas where HEC has put its maximum effort,” Dr Mukhtar remarked.
