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Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced the launch of a new initiative aimed at providing laptops to 35,000 students across the province. Under this scheme, students who excel in their academic fields will be awarded Core i7, 13th generation laptops as part of a target-driven plan to be completed within 90 days.
The advanced laptops will be distributed to 14,000 college students, 2,000 medical and dental students, and 4,000 students from agriculture and industry programs, in addition to the 20,000 university students who were selected for the program. Furthermore, 2,000 laptops are reserved for individuals who have achieved a position in the matriculation and intermediate examinations.
The Southern Punjab region is the primary focus of the initiative, with 32% of the laptops allocated to this region. 5,000 laptops will be disseminated within the first 30 days as part of the plan, and the remaining laptops will be distributed to pupils by February 20th, 2025.
In addition to the distribution of laptops, the Punjab government is developing a new scholarship program for female students. The scholarships for female students will be designed to cover the complete expenses of direct tuition fees for four and five-year programs at both public and private institutions and colleges, with a specific focus on 18,000 female students. In general, 30,000 scholarships will be awarded to students at all public universities, while the remaining 10,000 scholarships will be allocated to institutions and private universities.
The merit-based scholarship campaign has since attracted more than 68,000 applicants, of whom more than 34,000 have been confirmed. Because enrolment has increased by 15.5%, this is expected to further increase student enrolment in Punjab’s public sector universities.
Additionally, six universities have effectively completed the vice chancellor selection process, while the remaining universities are still in the process.
