Pakistan Resumes Foreign Scholarship Program It Had Suspended in November

Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission has resumed its foreign scholarship program for master’s degrees leading to doctoral degrees, which it had put on hold last November because of a cut in funds by the federal government, The News reported yesterday.

The commission’s executive director, Sohail H. Naqvi, told the newspaper that the government had released eight billion Pakistan rupees, or about $100-million, for the overseas scholarship program. Mr. Naqvi said about 340 students’ scholarships had been put on hold, even though most had been admitted to universities in New Zealand, Germany, Italy, and other European countries.

The November cancellation was widely condemned. In addition, the commission had not paid the tuition for students already enrolled at foreign universities. In February the government reversed itself, releasing 2.819 billion Pakistan rupees, or about $35-million, to pay the tuition of students already studying abroad. —Shailaja Neelakantan