Update (Feb 28, 2022):
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib took to social media to share that approximately 92,000 students across Pakistan have received scholarships from public sector universities under the widely-hailed Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme. He also said that the initiative, which falls under the prime minister’s Ehsaas Programme, has helped boys and girls from low-income families achieve their dreams of getting higher education.
Furthermore, the minister explained that the government has received nearly 122,744 applications for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme from all over the country – including Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir – for the current academic year. The scrutiny of these applications will be completed by June.
In a bid to combat poverty and illiteracy, the government of Pakistan launched ‘Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship’ on Nov. 4. The initiative aims to provide higher education to talented students, belonging to low-income families. It’s part of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision to provide students ample opportunities to learn and progress, regardless of their financial status. In this blog, we will discuss how you can apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship and the eligibility criteria for the award. We’ll also mention the last date to apply for the programme. So, keep reading.
What is Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme?
The scholarship is part of PM Khan’s broader initiative, the Ehsaas programme, which aims to address the needs of “the extreme poor, orphans, widows, the homeless, the disabled, those who risk medical impoverishment, for the jobless, for poor farmers, for laborers, for the sick and undernourished; for students from low-income backgrounds and for poor women and elderly citizens,” according to the website of the government of Pakistan.
Under the Ehsaas programme, around 200,000 scholarships will be awarded in a period of four years, which means at least 50,000 scholarships will be offered every year to students belonging to deserving families.
The scholarship is need-based but it’s also merit-based as the government will also gauge the academic performance of the student applying for Ehsaas. The award will cover the entire tuition fee along with a stipend to meet the student’s expenses.
Of all the scholarships that will be awarded, approximately 50% will be reserved for female students. The country’s ‘largest ever’ scholarship programme was announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan in a launching ceremony, which was attended by government officials and rectors from around 70 varsities.
Eligibility Criteria to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme
- These funded scholarships are applicable to both public and private sector and non-profit private sector colleges and universities
- The academic performance of the student will be assessed by checking their academic records.
- Only merit-based students can apply for the undergraduate programme
- An aptitude test will be taken and those who pass the test will be given scholarship
- The financial status of the family would also be assessed and only those students who can’t afford to pursue higher studies can apply in the need-based scholarship programme
- Apart from the four provinces, students belonging to Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad can also apply in Ehsaan undergraduate scholarship programme
- Scholarships will be awarded to students who are enrolled in a 4 or 5-year undergraduate programme
What will the scholarship cover?
Those who will be awarded scholarships will be awarded:
- 100% tuition fee will be waived off
- A stipend to meet the living expenses of PKR 10,000 per year will also be awarded
- Students will be given a monthly stipend: PKR 750 for boys and PKR 1,000 for girls
- 50% quota will be allocated for women and 2% for differently-abled students
How to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship
In order to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme, you need to visit the official website of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to register online. Follow these steps to register your account.
- Choose your nationality, i.e. Pakistani, if you are living in Pakistan
- Then enter your CNIC number
- Select the region you belong to: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, AJK, Gilgit or Islamabad
- Enter a password of your choice. It must be alphanumeric and have at least 8 characters.
- Add your mobile number and make sure you have not activated any promotional messages block service so that you can receive the messages related to the scholarship programme in time
- Enter your primary email address, where a code will be sent. Enter that code to activate your account
- Once registered, you will be asked to sign in to your account
- A dashboard will open up where you have to first complete your profile before you can fill out the application form
- Fill out the personal details: your father’s occupation, CNIC number, domicile region etc to complete your profile. When your profile is complete you can then access the application form for Ehsaas Undergraduate Programme available on the same dashboard.
- Upload the relevant academic documents
- The completed application forms and the necessary documents must also be submitted to the Financial Aid Office of the universities.
- It is advised not to send application directly to HEC or BISP
- The last date to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme on December 10, 2019
Let us take a look at some of the salient features of this scholarship programme.
Significant Features of Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Programme
- Ehsaas is the country’s ‘largest ever’ scholarship-based programme meant for students belonging to low-income groups
- Prime Minister Imran Khan has termed it the ‘largest ever needs-based undergraduate scholarship programme in the history of Pakistan.’
- The government wants to include women and differently-abled persons into mainstream education and, therefore, a special quota has been allocated for them. A 2% quota has been reserved for differently-abled students and 50% for talented female students.
- High-achieving students belonging to far-off, disadvantaged areas are encouraged to apply
- It is expected that the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme would put an end to the colonial-era education system, in which the well-to-do classes used to study in English medium schools while the rest were given the options to choose from Urdu medium or Madrassah system of education
- The Higher Education Commission in the past 15 years has awarded 29,000 scholarships to undergraduate students while under the ambitious Ehsaas programme would provide 50,000 scholarships in a year
So, this was all there was to know about Ehsaas Scholarships. But don’t forget to read our detailed piece on Kamyab Jawan Programme, a youth entrepreneurship scheme recently launched by the government. For more information on education, stay tuned to the best lifestyle blog in Pakistan. Keep providing us your valuable feedback at blog@zameen.com. We will be regularly updating this piece, so please keep reading Zameen Blog.
The cover image has been taken from PTI Official’s Twitter account.
