Re: Shahbaz Sharif on the Move
**Talent Endowment Fund for Punjab students
Rs 2bn Talent Endowment Fund for students**
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that talented and brilliant students of the province will no longer face financial problems in pursuing their studies as government has set up a talent endowment fund with a seed money of Rs 2 billion to bear educational expenditure of position-holders at centres of excellence in the country or abroad.
The CM was presiding over a meeting of the committee on talent endowment fund for brilliant students at the Chief Minister's Secretariat on Friday.
Shahbaz said that 60 percent amount of endowment fund will be allocated for students of 15 most backward districts of the province so that they could also have opportunities of higher education.
The CM said that no effort was made to polish the talent of promising students of backward and remote areas of the province during the last 60 years nor were they provided any opportunity to obtain higher education. On the contrary, he said, rights of deserving students were violated by launching self-finance scheme in educational institutions which created a sense of deprivation among talented and hardworking students.
He said that by setting up talent endowment fund with a seed money of Rs 2 billion, the government had taken a revolutionary step to enable such deserving students of backward and remote areas who were unable to bear educational expenditure to continue their studies. He said that during his visit to various areas of the province, he personally observed that talented and hardworking students had discontinued their studies due to financial constraints. He said the present government was focusing on the uplift of education sector especially primary education and an endowment fund has been established for the position-holders in different examinations.
Shahbaz Sharif said there was a need to promote a feeling among talented students of backward and remote areas that they were great assets to the country and had as much right to obtain higher education as students of Lahore, Rawalpindi and other areas. He said position-holders will now be able to study at most prestigious seats of learning in public or private sector in the province and their entire educational expenses will be borne by the government. He said that seed money of endowment fund would be increased in accordance with the requirement and as much funds would be allocated as were required by talented male or female students. He said that students of Rajanpur, Mianwali, Attock, Bhakkar and other less-developed areas would now be able to study at leading centres of excellence and arrangements will also be made for training aimed at personality grooming and promoting self-confidence in them before admission in educational institutions.
The chief minister directed the Education Department to launch an extensive publicity campaign in electronic and print media about endowment fund so that male and female position-holders especially of backward areas of the province could fully benefit from this programme. The CM also granted approval for the formation of a sub-committee to consider depositing seed money of endowment fund in financial institutions. He appreciated the services of the committee for formulating recommendations on the endowment fund.
Earlier, Chairman of the committee AZK Sherdil and Secretary Higher Education, briefed the meeting that the fund will be used for giving educational stipends to deserving position-holders of matriculation, intermediate, BA, BSc and postgraduate examinations. He said scholarships will also be awarded for higher education in foreign universities. He said disciplines had been selected by compiling a list of the best public and private sector educational institutions. He said that in addition to Punjab, these students will be provided opportunity of education at centres of excellence of other province including GIK Institute, NUST as well as others.
Member National Assembly Anusha Rehman, Chairman of the committee AZK Sherdil, vice-chancellors of the Punjab University, Engineering University, Health Sciences, Haroon Khawaja, Secretary Higher Education, the finance secretary, educationists and members of the committee were present there. The News
