ISLAMABAD: The inaugural ceremony of National Endowment Scholarships for Talent (NEST) was held in in H8, Islamabad. Minister of Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal inaugurated the event.
At the inaugural ceremony, Ahsan Iqbal said that the government is committed to nurturing Pakistani talent by providing educational scholarships through NEST. For this purpose, the government has allocated Rs5.2 billion for deserving young, talented students by providing them with an easy access to the best educational institution of Pakistan, he added.
He reiterated that a nation can only progress if their talent is groomed and provided with opportunities to best utilize their skills to lead a country to a progressive path.
“Our government is keen to eliminate all hurdles in the way of progressive Pakistan, and NEST is the practical step towards this aim,” the minister said. He added, “Government is planning to increase NEST budget to Rs25 billion in coming years.”
“We are here to provide vertical social mobility to our deserving young talent, and we are staunch believers of vertical development in Pakistan,” Ahsan said, adding that that the government has taken many steps to empower youth through many educational uplifting schemes, and continue to do so till Pakistan will be recognised as a developed country of the sub-continent.
Planning, Development and Reforms Secretary Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui is looking after the affairs of the company as acting CEO.
On this occasion, he appreciated the government’s initiatives and commitment towards providing quality education to deserving talent. “We are making all-out efforts to bring vertical development in Pakistan through these empowerment schemes, to the deprived talent of Pakistan with little access to quality education,” he added.
NEST is a company incorporated with SECP under Section 42 of the Companies’ Ordinance 1984, with an objective to award scholarships to needy cum talented students in less developed areas. For vertical up gradation of the less privileged, NEST is outreaching and providing quality education opportunities to the masses to help them fight the vicious circles of poverty and obtain sustainable living standards.
NEST has awarded 2,244 scholarships to the talented and deserving student in less developed districts according to a prescribed quota all over Pakistan. Scholarships have been awarded for intermediate and graduation programs. The company also provides the facility of Qarz-e-Hasna for overseas masters programmes for needy and talented students.