LAHORE: Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab, attended a laptop and Honhaar Scholarship distribution ceremony on Tuesday at Comsats University in Attock, where students from Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were among the recipients.
Students from KP expressed gratitude to the Punjab government for the expansion of the scholarship programme beyond provincial borders, stating that the financial aid had helped them to cover approximately Rs200,000 in semester fees.
The students received laptops and scholarships from the chief minister during the distribution part. Students also presented portraits and sketches to her during the event.
6,161 laptops were distributed among students across the Rawalpindi division at the Attock event. These included 628 laptops for students of public universities, 257 for private universities, 461 for medical colleges, 375 for nursing colleges, 17 for special education institutions and 423 for colleges under the Higher Education Department.
Under the Honhaar Scholarship Programme, 2,590 scholarships worth Rs196.97 million were awarded to students in the Rawalpindi division. Of these, 2,085 scholarships worth Rs170.21 million were allocated to students of public universities, while 314 scholarships worth Rs19.8 million went to students of medical universities and colleges. Another 191 scholarships worth Rs6.96 million were awarded to students of HED colleges.
The programme covers students enrolled in public and private universities, federally chartered universities, BS colleges, special education institutions and medical and dental colleges.
The number of laptops allocated has been raised from 40,000 to 112,000 for deserving candidates by the chief minister. However, as per recent reports, 48,292 laptops have thus far been distributed among students in Punjab’s various districts in accordance with the programme.
Scholarships have been awarded to 108, 000 under the first three phases of the Honhaar Scholarship Programme.
The chief minister met elected officials, party ticket holders, and other political figure who were attendees of the ceremony.
