Punjab’s Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has announced that students enrolled in private universities across the province will also be included in the government’s laptop scheme.
Speaking on World Education Day, the minister said that on the special instructions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, private university students would now be eligible to receive laptops under the provincial initiative.
He said a dedicated online portal for private university students would be launched soon, adding that the eligibility criteria for private institutions would be the same as that applied to students of public sector universities.
Rana Sikandar Hayat noted that in the past 77 years, the private education sector had never been included in any government-run scheme. He added that no laptop or scholarship programmes were introduced during the last four years either.
The education minister said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz provided educational support to public sector students in her first year in office and has now extended the same support to private university students in the second year.
He described the inclusion of private university students in the laptop scheme as a “major gift” on World Education Day, saying the initiative would help open doors for students in the digital world.
Earlier, during a laptop distribution ceremony in Lodhran, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also announced the construction of 50,000 houses under a separate welfare initiative.
