Application Date for PM Laptop Scheme Extended

ISLAMABAD: Students enrolled in PhD, MS, M Phil and Masters and under graduate programmes at public sector universities can apply for the Prime Minister’s (PM) Laptop Scheme (Phase IV and V) till November 15.

According to an official source, the date for registration was extended from September 30 to November 15, to facilitate a maximum number of students.

Special quota was also reserved for students enrolled in the two-year and three-year DAE programme at government colleges of technology, as well as students of FA/FSC, BA/BSC, and MA/MSC of public sector graduate and postgraduate colleges located in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Islamabad Capital Territories quota was also reserved for disabled students.

The students who would meet the eligibility criteria, available at www.hec.gov.pk/laptops, could visit Prime Minister Laptop Scheme portal, http://pmnls.hec.gov.pk, for registration.

The scheme was launched to enhance the scope of research and quality education in the country and increase access to information technology, the official source said.

Pakistani students studying in Pakistan’s public-sector institutions recognised by the Higher Education Commission, were advised to register or update their profiles online.

The laptop scheme was launched in 2013-14 with an initial target to procure and distribute 100,000 laptops amongst the students studying in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The HEC was given the responsibility to devise the mechanism of distribution of 100,000 laptops after procurement through open competitive bidding.

On the directives of the then prime minister, the government had initiated a national programme for distribution of laptops to young and bright students studying in public sector higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country and AJK.