The British Council, under Scotland-Pak Scholarship scheme, has awarded scholarships to 19 female students of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) pursuing degrees at master’s and M Phil levels.
The scholarship certificate distribution ceremony was held here at the main campus the other day. The ceremony was presided over by Vice Chancellor, AIOU, Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum, while Amir Ramzan, Country Director, British Council Pakistan was the chief guest on the occasion. Principal officers, Deans and Heads of academic Department of AIOU and senior officers of the British Council, Islamabad including Sarah Parvez and Zoha Fatima were also present.
Director International Collaboration and Exchange Office, AIOU, Zahid Majeed sharing his remarks said the scholarships were awarded on merit to the most deserving students from the underdeveloped areas of Pakistan.
The British Council in partnership with the Government of Scotland initiated the Scotland-Pakistan Scholarship Scheme to promote education for women in Pakistan.
Many AIOU students applied for this scheme which will cover educational expenses of selected students for two years. However, 37 female students were shortlisted and 19 were awarded scholarships in this ceremony.
While addressing the ceremony, Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum congratulated scholarship awardees and said that awarding scholarships to our students reflected British Council’s confidence in the academic credibility of the university.
He suggested that the British Council might award scholarships to additional AIOU students which was generously approved by Amir Ramzan.
The Country Director of British Council in Pakistan went on to announce the awarding of laptops to selected AIOU scholarship recipients to facilitate access to their work during the pandemic.
Prof Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum thanked him and said that AIOU has reserved a considerable amount of funds to provide educational facilities to the underprivileged and marginalized segments of the society.
