Pakistan is going to provide scholarships to 300 Bangladeshi students. They have offered fully funded scholarships to study in various subjects in the country’s leading universities. The country wants to provide these scholarships to students in various subjects in leading universities of Bangladesh. It will be implemented under the Pakistan-Bangladesh Friendship Scholarship Program.
The proposal was raised at a meeting of the country’s education ministry on Thursday, according to Pakistan’s influential Dawn newspaper. The meeting, chaired by Pakistan’s Education Secretary Mohiuddin Ahmed Wani, was attended by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Executive Director Professor Ziaul Qayyum, a representative of the Pakistani High Commission in Bangladesh, the country’s Foreign Ministry and officials from various universities.
One of the main objectives of this scholarship is to further strengthen relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan. Students in subjects such as engineering, basic and natural sciences, medicine and health, social sciences, humanities and arts, architecture, fine arts, business education, computer science, information technology, agricultural science, media and mass communication and language studies will receive this scholarship.
During the meeting, the Education Secretary urged universities to organize expos, seminars and road shows to widely publicize the initiative to Bangladeshi students. He also suggested launching an online portal for the application process.
Top universities in Pakistan covered under the scholarship include: International Islamic University, Islamabad, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), COMSATS University, National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Aga Khan University, Karachi, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Lahore University and Superior University
During the meeting, the Executive Director of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan emphasized the importance of building regional harmony through educational diplomacy. He urged Pakistani universities to quickly approve budget allocations for scholarships.
Pakistan has previously launched scholarship programs for students from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Bangladeshi students have the potential to utilize this opportunity to enhance their skills through higher education and improve bilateral relations.
Analysts believe that this initiative will take Bangladesh-Pakistan relations to a new level. It remains to be seen how the scholarship process works and how much Bangladeshi students benefit from it.
