Special Assistant to Sindh Chief Minister for Minority Affairs Dr Khatu Mal Jeevan said on Wednesday that launching ‘Shaheed Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto Scholarship for Students of Minority Community’ is a great initiative taken by the government for providing equal opportunities to students, adding that Rs35 million cheques would be distributed among 2400 talented and needy students on merit this year.
He said expressed these views, while addressing a ceremony organised to disburse scholarship cheques among the students belonging to Karachi division. Mal called it a proud moment for him and the government.
He said that the Pakistan Peoples Party’s government was taking Shaheed Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto’s vision forward under the guidance of Asif Ali Zardari and leadership of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
He said that the minority affairs department budget had been tripled during last four years, which is a great step towards recognising the important role of minorities in the progress of the country.
He said that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has lent his support in launching the programme.
Mall said that 400 students will get cheques during the ceremony. In the second phase, 1600 students of Hyderabad and MirpurKhas divisions would be awarded scholarships in Hyderabad, while in the third phase, 400 students of Sukkur, Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad divisions would be disbursed scholarship cheques in a ceremony which will be organised in Sukkur.
“This scholarship will be awarded annually and a number of scholarships will be increased phase-wise to accommodate more and more students,” he added.
He said that the Sindh government was already running scholarship programmes for bright and deserving students of the province under the Sindh Education Department’s Endowment Fund for pursuing higher education and a large number of students from minority community had benefited from the opportunity.
Addressing the ceremony, Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister h for Social Welfare Shamim Mumtaz said that the government was taking practical steps to create brotherhood and interfaith harmony for the progress of the country.
