HEC gets Rs3.12 billion for foreign students

The fund will be used to aid around 10,000 Pakistani scholars studying abroad.No funds were released for Pakistani scholars in international universities since February 2012 and there were gossips that foreign scholarship program would be stopped if the government would not issue funds in time. The HEC and Pakistani government are assured to release them funding as the agreement was signed.HEC Media Manager Murtaza Noor confirmed that the fund of Rs3.12 billion has been released by the Finance Ministry, which will basically be used for foreign scholarship program.The Higher Education Commission (HEC) was not in position to pay the dues of Pakistani scholars studying in foreign universities since April 2012 as no funds were released for the last quarter of financial year 2011-12 by the government.The failure to pay the due payments was an embarrassment for the Pakistani students and the government. The shortage of funds also affected the need-based scholarships awarded to the youth belonging to remote areas of Pakistan including Balochistan, Fata, interior Sindh and south Punjab.In Pakistan, the access to higher education is already low in the region i.e. 8 percent as compared to 25 percent in Indonesia, 38 per cent in Turkey, 41 per cent in China, 18 per cent in India, 12 percent in Bangladesh and 95 percent in South Korea.While the entry test for Punjab medical colleges is going to be organized on September 23 and the Rawalpindi administration has finalised centers and security measures for them.The centers have been arranged in Government Postgraduate College for Women, Satellite Town and Government College for Boys, Satellite Town, Siddique Public School, 6th Road and Ideal Cambridge School, 6th Road.