ISLAMABAD,,  MARCH 02 (DNA) : Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will give away scholarships to the first batch of deserving bright students under Ehsaas undergraduate programme today (Monday).

Around 24 billion rupees would be spent on this four-year programme to support 200,000 students, half of them girls, from low-income backgrounds.

As part of the Ehsaas scholarships policy, two percent scholarships will be exclusively awarded to students with special needs.

Overall, 50,000 scholarships will be given every year to enhance financial access to higher education for deserving students.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar on Saturday had said that the programme will help impart higher education to a total of 200,000 students (50 per cent girls) from the less-developed areas over a period of four years. She added a 2 per cent quota has been allocated for the special persons.

In order to help the deserving youth get a higher education, a total of 50,000 scholarships would be given every year, Dr Sania Nishtar explained, adding the academic performance of a student would decide whether he or she would continue to get financial assistance in future.

She had said the scholarship entails a complete tuition fee and an Rs4000 monthly stipend.

It may be noted that Prime Minister Imran Khan had launched the programme last year in November.