The Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme would be relaunched under the Youth Development Initiative, according to Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, within the next few days.
Speaking to the media, he further stated that HEC would launch a programme for online courses for students in Pakistan’s institutions with assistance from Microsoft and other international organisations.
The declaration follows the historic Prime Minister (PM) Laptop Scheme’s restoration by the Federal Government, which is governed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Details indicate that the programme, which has a budget of Rs 10 billion, will distribute laptops to students pursuing BS, Masters, M Phil, PhD, and undergraduate degrees.
A committee headed by Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), has been formed by the government to complete all issues, including the requirements for students to be eligible for laptops.
According to Academia Mag, the 14-member committee comprises the Executive Director of HEC, Additional Finance Secretary (Budget) of the Government of Pakistan, a member from Planning and Development Division, Science and Technology, Secretary Higher Education Department Punjab, Secretary Higher Education Department Sindh, Secretary Higher Education Department Balochistan, Secretary Higher Education Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a representative from the National Information Technology Board (NITB), Secretary Higher Education Department Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a representative from Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and others.
The procedure for verifying degrees and issuing certificates of equivalency is likewise being shifted entirely online.
A growing number of educational institutions were causing financial problems for HEC, he continued, and public universities would henceforth be given funding according on how well they performed.
“We would request the federal and provincial governments to not establish more public universities until the country’s financial issues are resolved,” he said.
