Government College University (GCU) Lahore Endowment Fund Trust has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), “Help the Helpless,” with a US-based educational foundation, Promotion of Education in Pakistan (PEP), to give scholarships to the poor and deserving students of GCU. GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ikramul Haq and PEP President Prof Dr Khalid Iqbal signed the agreement after which PEP USA gave an initial donation of Rs 2 million to the GCU Endowment Fund Trust for initiating scholarships for the deserving students.
GCU and PEP also agreed on the establishment of a collective fund, “Student Scholarship and Immediate Needs (SAIN),” at the GCU Lahore by pooling resources.
The PEP president said that in the past a nation could survive with an unskilled labour force, however, the survival of the fittest in the twenty-first century required the masses to be educated. “Unfortunately, the education sector in Pakistan is amongst the weakest in modern nations,” he said. He said that quality education was limited to only a few institutions, most of which were private and profit-making entities and were beyond the reach of all except a very small upper class.
Thus, there was an urgent need in Pakistan for institutions where quality education could be made available to all, he said. He showed his commitment to take all the possible steps to help the deserving students of GCU. He also proposed a fundraising week for deserving students. GCU Endowment Fund Trust Honorary Secretary Dr Khalid Manzoor Butt said that this year, more than around 2,500 GCU students applied for financial aid but owing to limited financial resources it became difficult for the university to accommodate all the students.
He said the Endowment Fund Trust was established to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. He said last month the trust gave scholarships of more than Rs 1.6 million to deserving students with the help of old students of GCU.
