HYDERABAD: Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal has entered into an agreement with the University of Sindh to provide scholarships to its postgraduate students under Prime Minister’s Ehsaas Kafalat programme. The deserving scholars will be given cheques on the basis of merit, the university spokesman informed here on Thursday adding that a ceremony was held in this regard where Vice Chancellor University of Sindh Prof. Dr. Muhammad Siddique Kalhoro and Managing Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal Malik Zaheer Ahmed Khokhar put their signatures on the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The two also exchanged their views about the successful completion of the first phase of Ehsaas Kifalat Scholarship for undergraduate students of all the universities of the country and discussed the benefit of the program for the students.

The Vice-Chancellor proposed that the students seeking admissions on a self-finance basis ought to be included in the same scholarship so that they too may get assistance and continue their higher education.

He said that some students got admissions under a self-finance scheme after they failed to be admitted on merit, however, he said later, they could not continue their education due to poverty and poor financial conditions.

He informed that the university was the first higher learning institution of the country that was established in 1947 and youngsters from all over the province and across the country came there to pursue higher education, most of whom are not in a very good financial position.

Sindh University is a general university wherein approximately 35, 000 students are studying, all of them should be considered for Ehsaas Scholarship, he added.

He said that the amount of Ehsaas Kafalat Scholarship should be increased from Rs. 17000 and it must be made at par with other scholarships being received by the varsity from other foundations.

The Managing Director, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, Malik Zaheer Ahmad Khokhar assured that the proposal of the Vice Chancellor would be considered at the higher level and said that the agreement would initially provide 50 deserving male and 50 female students of each university.

“Scholarships will be awarded solely on merit as it was done previously”, he said and added that the scholarship would help deserving students continue their higher studies without any obstacle and worries.