CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz relaunches laptop scheme after eight years
Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday relaunched the province's flagship laptop distribution scheme after an eight-year gap, announcing the first-ever distribution of 13th-generation Core i7 laptops to students.
The revival of the scheme marks a major initiative under the new provincial government, with the first phase officially inaugurated by CM Maryam Nawaz at the historic University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore, according to a statement issued from the Chief Minister's office.
Punjab govt launches Ration Card Program worth Rs40b
5,000 laptops for students from other provinces
The statement added that in line with CM Maryam's directive, the laptop scheme has been extended beyond Punjab to include students from other provinces and regions across the country.
It stated that a total of 5,000 laptops will be distributed to students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
'Among these, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will receive the highest share with 3,136 laptops, followed by Balochistan with 938, Azad Jammu & Kashmir with 517, and Gilgit-Baltistan with 410 laptops,' the statemtn said, adding that an online portal has been launched to facilitate applications from students in these regions to streamline the process.
'Hunarmand Scholarship Phase-II' launched
In addition to the laptop scheme, the chief minister also announced the launch of Phase II of the 'Hunarmand Scholarship' program. Under this phase, 20,000 scholarships will be awarded to deserving students enrolled from the third to the eighth semester and those pursuing degrees lasting two to five years, the statement said.
'This initiative is aimed at promoting merit-based support for talented youth and increasing access to digital and educational resources across Pakistan,' it added.
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