Lahore
Sixty Hindu and 40 Sikh students in Pakistan have been awarded scholarships by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) to help students from the minority community pursue higher education in local universities, a spokesperson said on Monday.
The ETPB is a statutory board that administers evacuee properties, including educational, charitable or religious trusts, left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India after Partition.
The board launched the Baba Guru Nanak scholarships for minority Hindu and Sikh students in 2019. Initially, 50 scholarships were given to the minority students belonging to low-income families. This year, the ETPB has doubled the number of scholarships.
“For 2022-23, Hindu students were the highest number of recipients of the 100 scholarships, purely on the basis of merit,” ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi told PTI, adding that 60 Hindu and 40 Sikh students got the scholarships this time.
“Each student will be provided Pakistani ₹10,000 (approximately Indian ₹3,640) per month till completion of their degrees,” he said.
The spokesperson added that the number of scholarships has been increased on the direction of ETPB chief Habibur Rehman Gilani.Most of these scholarship recipients belong to the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}The spokesperson added that the number of scholarships has been increased on the direction of ETPB chief Habibur Rehman Gilani.Most of these scholarship recipients belong to the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}Hashmi said the Board had received a number of applications for the scholarship and selected these 100 students last month.
“We are also considering increasing the monthly amount of the scholarship,” he added.