Ministry allocates scholarships worth Rs45 million for minority students

• Religious affairs ministry spokesperson says students taking financial assistance from other sources would not be eligible.
• He says it is mandatory that students must have bank accounts for smooth transactions of funds.
• Says underage students could open minor bank accounts or joint bank accounts with their parents for the purpose.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has allocated Rs45 million to provide scholarships to minority communities’ students for the financial year 2022-23.

Talking to APP, Ministry’s Spokesperson Muhammad Umar Butt said that the ministry had sought applications from eligible students from primary to university level, particularly those who were enrolled in government educational institutions and secured at least 50% marks in their annual examinations and their parents’ income was not exceeding to Rs50,000.

He said it was mandatory that students must have bank accounts for smooth transaction of funds, adding that underage students could open minor bank accounts or joint bank accounts with their parents for the purpose.

The minister asked the students to fill in the application forms on the new prescribed proforma duly enclosed with an attested copy of the mark sheet of the last examination. In the case of a semester system, they should attach attested copies of the mark sheets of the last two semesters with their parents or guardians’ original income certificates, he added.

He clarified that students taking financial assistance, stipend or scholarships from other sources would not be entertained. 

Butt said the applicants must mention their contact numbers or email addresses in the prescribed application forms to get possible queries resolved in time, adding that the applications, completed in all respects along with documentary evidence, must reach the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony by October 6.

The application forms could be downloaded from the official website www.mora.gov.pk or could be obtained free of charge from the ministry, he maintained.