US Agency for International Development (USAID) Provincial Mission Director Ted Gehr distributed 147 US funded scholarships to exceptional students enrolled in a recently established two-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and four-year Bachelor's Degree in Education (B.Ed) program at various universities across the Punjab.
The scholarships are part of USAIDs' larger Teacher Education Project at the Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab in Lahore. The five-year $75 million project is a testament to the United States' commitment to supporting education development in Pakistan. The project aims to create a cadre of new and better-trained teachers who will improve the quality of basic education throughout the region. Better quality education means a brighter future for the children of the Punjab. "Pakistan and the United States have enjoyed a long and productive co-operation that spans for more than 60 years. This scholarship program is yet another expression of the US government's long-term commitment to help build a stronger, more prosperous Pakistan," remarked Mr, Gehr.
A total of 1,900 students across Pakistan will be awarded scholarships through the project. The scholarship program is designed to promote the new ADE and B.Ed degrees recently introduced by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan with support from USAID. Speaking on the occasion, IER Director University of the Punjab Dr Mumtaz Akhtar lauded the efforts of the US government in assisting Pakistan to improve the overall quality of basic education through the development and implementation of an innovative curriculum for the new teachers' education degree program. USAIDs' Teacher Education Project works closely with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), provincial and regional departments of education, and teacher training institutions across the country to advance the goal of improved education in Pakistan.