Pakistan High Commission awards Jinnah Scholarships to 131 deserving Lankan students

Pakistan High Commission, Colombo recently organised the annual Jinnah Scholarship ceremony, at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

It awarded scholarships to bright and deserving A-Level students of Sri Lanka. 

These scholarships have been awarded by the Government of Pakistan to Sri Lankan students of A Level since 2006. So far, more than 2400 Sri Lankan students have benefitted from this program, named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the revered founding father of Pakistan.

Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka graced the occasion as Chief Guest. In his speech Wickramanayaka highly appreciated the gracious gesture from the people and Government of Pakistan. He added that such efforts will be very fruitful in strengthening bilateral relations between the two friendly countries. He further added that the youth is our future and through such scholarship programs, we strengthen our future generations.

In his remarks, Pakistan High Commissioner Major General (Retd) Umar Farooq Burki HI (M) emphasised upon the importance of the relationship that both the countries enjoy and the fact that Pakistan aims at strengthening these strong ties. He added that the Jinnah Scholarship is a testament to the strong bond between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and it reflects our commitment to enhancing the capabilities of youth with better educational opportunities. 

The High Commissioner also informed the audience that the Government of Pakistan has been awarding the Jinnah Scholarship for bright Sri Lankan students since 2006. He said the students who qualified for this prestigious scholarship came from all provinces of Sri Lanka. 

The ratio of Sinhalese, Tamil (67) and Muslim (74) students was also almost equal. It was very encouraging to see that the number of female students (87) was almost double as compared to that of the male students (44). Moreover, the Government of Pakistan takes pride in producing hundreds of doctors, engineers and other professionals in various faculties through separate fully funded scholarship programs.

During the Jinnah scholarship awarding ceremony, certificates were awarded by Minister Wickramanayaka, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Pakistan High Commissioner and Deputy High Commissioner. Professors representing Universities, Ambassadors, political personalities and friends of Pakistan were also present at the occasion.