The United States government on Tuesday announced 500 new scholarships for Pakistani university students from flood-affected districts to “assist them in completing their degrees.”
In January, international donors met in Geneva and committed over $9 billion to help Pakistan recover from the flood, but the United Nations said a day ago that so far, donors have fulfilled only 40 percent of the pledges they made.
A press release issued from the US embassy in Islamabad said US Ambassador Donald Blome announced the scholarships at an event “celebrating the achievements of female scholars in honour of International Women’s Day” at the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The United States, through USAID, has provided scholarships for meritorious yet financially challenged students to pursue further education at leading Pakistani colleges.
The US government has given out over 6,000 scholarships through the merit- and need-based scholarship programme, it was added, working in cooperation with the HEC.
According to the press release, as part of the US government’s support for women’s higher education, 60% of those scholarships were given to women.
“International Women’s Day not only honours the contributions made by our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters in the fields of social, economic, cultural, and political advancement. The news announcement highlighted Ambassador Blome as noting that it was also a call to action to hasten gender parity and destroy gender stereotypes.
HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed remarked that the US government’s support for strategic sectors in Pakistan, especially the higher education sector, was “commendable”.
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“Not only have these scholarships helped secure university education for many underprivileged students, lifting themselves and their families out of poverty, they have helped supply Pakistan with crucial skills and knowledge sets to drive the economy,” he added.
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