Youth body changes scholarship policy

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Development Foundation (PDF), a body working to facilitate the educated youth, has changed its scholarship policy under the “Educate Pakistan Project” to cover the students whose parents financial positions have been adversely affected due to coronavirus pandemic.

The PDF has been running the project for the last five years to educate thousands of underprivileged children.A press release said COVID-19 has disturbed the financial positions of different families which cannot bear the expenses of their wards due to the closure of businesses.

It said the PDF has constituted a special committee comprising educationists and philanthropists which met here in Peshawar.PDF Chairman Muhammad Bilal Sethi chaired the meeting while Members of the KP Assembly, Rabia Basri, Samar Bilour, Dean, the University of Peshawar, Prof. Dr Bushra Hamid, Director, Pakistan Study Centre, Prof Dr Fakhar Ul Islam, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar’s Associate Professor. Beenish Asmat Ullah, Dr. Abdur Rahman Khalil, Muhammad Aizaz Sethi, Arbab Ifrahim, Umer Masood, Usman Hassan, Kalim Ullah, Rafi Ullah and others were in attendance.

The committee sent its recommendations for the new scholarship policy to the PDF Governing Body for approval. The new policy defines underprivileged children according to international standards.It was decided that only poor students of public sector institutions would be facilitated.

The committee decided that those students who get admissions on a self-support basis in the public sector universities shall not be eligible for these scholarships.It was further decided that women universities and universities facing financial issues would be given preference.

The committee suggested that women and disabled students should be given preference.Giving the background for changing the scholarship policy, PDF Chairman Bilal Sethi pointed out that during the scholarship interviews some of the students deserved scholarships due to their deteriorating financial condition but the old policy was not allowing this, thus, the need for a change.

PDF Finance Secretary Usman Hassan gave a presentation on the past performance and apprised the committee that a survey was being conducted on fruits of the project, adding the statistics collected so far, however, showed that around 45 per cent of the students facilitated by the PDF had started professional careers.

The lawmakers lauded the efforts of PDF and hoped the initiative would help the deserving students in completing their education and lessen the financial burden on their parents.