Almost 16000 Afghan students took Pakistani scholarship exam in Kabul, Afghanistan, to qualify for higher education in Pakistan on December 29. Hundreds of students stood in queues at Intercontinental, Kabul, waiting for their turn to enter for the exam. The students were divided into three groups, with the 90 minute long test conducted thrice to accommodate all the applicants.
Pakistan has offered scholarships to 1,000 Afghan students as part of the Allama Iqbal Scholarship Programme. The grant has been given by the Higher Education Commission Pakistan. Pakistan envoy to Kabul Zahid Nasrullah Khan also attended the event for the scholarship programme. The aim of the grant is to promote education in Afghanistan along with helping the children from poor backgrounds to get an education. The students that have been selected will be able to pursue higher education in various universities all across Pakistan in different fields including medicine, engineering, agriculture, management, and computer science.
Earlier in June 2019, around 3,000 scholarships were awarded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan to the Afghan students under a four-year program. The Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said that these scholarships will be offered in phases. Every year students of various categories will be able to benefit from the programme.
A Pakistan women delegation led by former Special Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan visiting Kabul to meet Afghan women leaders as part of CRSS’ Pakistan-Afghanistan Track 1.5/II diplomacy initiative also paid a visit to the test center to meet the candidates appearing in the tests and motivated them towards pursuing their higher education in Pakistan.
