EHSAAS UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM @ PAKISTAN

 

INTRODUCTION:

Education beyond intermediate is one of the ways to overcome poverty. However, access to higher education is itself distributed very unevenly. For example, only 0.4% of the children from the lowest income quintile (from the relevant age cohort) are enrolled in higher education institutions, which is far below the national average of 10%. Ehsas scholarships aim to eliminate this source of unequal access.

According to the National Human Development Report 2017, Pakistan is one of the youngest country in the world. Realizing its demographic reality which has a population of around 220 million out of which more than half are of university age cohort, the priority of Government of Pakistan is to work on such programs which give drive to provide access to financially deserving and also encourages gender equity. The strategy is to create opportunities for a sizeable segment of youth to bring them under the net of higher education and create equal education opportunities for all.

 

OBJECTIVES:

• It is a paradigm shift in a policy of the Government of Pakistan to support undergraduate level students who after completing FA/FSc./Intermediate are unable to pursue university education due to limited financial resources. Unlike past financial assistance schemes that were aimed at MS or PhD programs, the Ehsas Undergraduate Scholarship Project focuses on the most critical segment, namely the 4-5year undergraduate programs, which contributes the most to income of the individual who completes the bachelors degree

• It is one of the sizeable project funding under Government of Pakistan's Ehsaas social safety net program which aims to provide 50,000 undergraduate scholarships with an average budget of Rs.6 billion annually. Over a period of next four to five years these scholarships will be  increased to  around 200,000.
• Scholarship covers university tuition fee and stipend throughout four-five years of degree duration. It is a significant step to ensure affordable higher education in  all major fields of education including agriculture, arts and humanities, business education, engineering, medical, physical sciences, and social sciences.
• The project aims to support female education therefore 50% of scholarships are reserved for the female students in the overall Project's target.
• To encourage physically challenged students, 2% of the scholarships are reserved for them.
•  It is a vibrant program which will facilitate creation of the competent  workforce thus enhancing employability factors in youth.
• It foresees to create drive for education among those students who have discontinued  studies due to  limited financial issues. 
• By targeting most vulnerable segment of young population through this initiative, poorer households would be enabled to come out of poverty, which in a long run expected to have positive impact on individuals, their families and the community.

 

ELIGIBILITY:

Scholarships are offered for:

• Newly admitted students of Fall 2021 session  in HEC recognized public sector university

• Students fulfilling criteria of need and provide authentic information required under the Project's policy.

• Admissions secured on merit only. Merit means that the student has fulfilled the admission criteria of the institution in which he/she intends to study.

• Degree programs allowed by the HEC.

• Age limit set by institution's regulations, i.e. the maximum age of the eligibility for the scholarship is the same as the maximum age for applying for admission in undergraduate programs at the HEI.

Ineligibility Conditions:

A student is ineligible for the scholarship if found

1. Availing any other scholarship or continuous grant 
2. Enrolled in distant learning programs and  affiliated colleges (both public/private )
3. Secured admission on self-sustain/ self-support/ self-finance basis, or in evening programs with higher fee structures
4. Students of two-year post-higher secondary or equivalent programmes, two-year associate degree programmes, Master's and the nomenclature of BA/BSc programmes are not eligible for Ehsaas Scholarship
5. Students holding associate degrees, if  newly  enrolled in lateral undergraduate  degree program i.e. 5^th Semester are also ineligible

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

 After submission  of the online application form of Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Project , the applicant is required to take printout of the application form and attach following supporting documents:

Sr.no	Supporting Documents
1	Copy of applicant CNIC / B. Form
2	Copy of CNIC (Father, Mother/ Guardian)
3	Salary Slip / Income Certificate (Father/Guardian, Mother)
4	If father is Labourer on daily wage / shopkeeper / private job, then attach undertaking of Income Certificate on minimum amount of stamp paper of Rs. 50/-
5	Copies of last Six Month Utility Bills (Electricity, Gas, Telephone, Water) – (If applicable)
6	Copy of Rent agreement in case of Rented House
7	Copies of Last Fee Receipts of Applicant and Siblings (If applicable)
8	Copies of Medical bills/ expenditure related documents (if applicable)
9	01 Passport size Photograph of Applicant
10	01 Picture of House from outside Front

Important Note: The hard copy of the application form along with the supporting documents will be submitted to the Student Financial Aid Office of the university only.

 

HOW TO APPLY:

All students are required to apply through following HEC Online Application System:
https://ehsaas.hec.gov.pk/

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

https://hec.gov.pk/english/services/students/Ehsaas/Pages/default.aspx