ISLAMABAD:21 July: The French embassy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) regarding provision of scholarships for Pakistani students.
French Ambassador to Pakistan Philippe Thiebaud, HEC Chairman Professor Dr Javaid Leghari and vice chancellors of six universities signed the MoU at the French embassy.
Speaking on the occasion, Thiebaud said these were need-based scholarships. “We celebrated the France Day a few days ago and announced to increase bilateral cooperation with Pakistan. This MoU is one of those collaboration, which we announced a few days ago. The scholarship programme will benefit 90 students from six universities, with total cost of Rs 23 million,” he said. The envoy also assured to continue such cooperation in the future. The ambassador said that through such activities, people would be encouraged to get higher education within the country instead of going abroad.
Talking to Daily Times, the ambassador said that the programme was only for six universities initially, which might be extended to other universities.
He said there was a need to invest more in the education sector of Pakistan because it was the only way to put the country on the path of development.
“This scholarship scheme will further strengthen the close and long-term bilateral relations between the governments of Pakistan and France,” he said. In Pakistan, less than eight percent of the people between 17 and 23 years of age are currently enrolled in any form of higher education. “The new scholarship programme is one answer to this challenge. This programme will enable young people, primarily from FATA, KP and Balochistan, to pursue their education in top universities/institutions of Pakistan.”
The scholarships will be offered in the fields of social science, business and architecture. Students from the Quaid-e-Azam University; COMSATS Institute of Technology, Islamabad; Government College University, Lahore; Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar; Institute of Business and Management, Karachi; and Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, Quetta; will benefit from this programme.
The scholarship awards are designed to cover the complete cost of education during the entire academic programme of the 90 recipients.Daily Times.