Pakistan awards prestigious Jinnah Scholarship 2012 to 165 brilliant Sri Lankan students

The Government of Pakistan through its High Commission in Sri Lanka has awarded Sri Lanka Rs. 4 million worth of educational scholarships to 165 bright Sri Lankan students of O/L and A/L under Jinnah Scholarship Program 2012.

Under the auspices of High Commission of Pakistan, Colombo, the award ceremony of Jinnah Educational Scholarship 2012 was held at Bishop’s College Auditorium.
Minister of Cooperative and Internal Trade Johnston Fernando was the Chief Guest for the event. Senior Minister of Urban Development A.H.M. Fowzie attended the event as the Guest of Honour. The High Commissioner of Pakistan to Sri Lanka Seema Ilahi Baloch also graced the occasion. The event was also attended by a large number of students and their families along with Pakistan High Commission officials, dignitaries and a large section of media. The Government of Pakistan has been awarding the Jinnah Educational Scholarship since 2005 and so nearly 1,000 Sri Lankan students have benefited from this scheme. During the past seven years approximately Rs. 24 million worth of scholarships have been awarded for promoting Sri Lankan youth and education sector in Sri Lanka.
The 165 successful candidates for the prestigious Jinnah Scholarship awards 2012 included Ridmi Handapangoda who obtained nine As for her O/L despite being completely visually impaired. This extremely talented girl has kept a record by securing the first position in her class by defeating over 50 students in each class from Grade 1 to 10. Apart from her achievements in studies, she had won heaps of certificates for essay writing, poems and singing at school competitions.  Ridmi has learned the basics of computer handling, and does her writing using the special software called ‘JOSE’ designed for visually impaired persons.
The Jinnah Scholarships are awarded on the basis of a strict criteria involving merit and need for financial assistance. Under the programme, each successful student receives stipend of Rs. 24,000 as assistance for one year for following their studies. The scholarships are named after the great statesman and leader of the Sub continent, Quaid-e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who is the founder of Pakistan. In addition to Jinnah Educational Scholarships, every year Government of Pakistan offers fully funded scholarships in medicine, engineering, pharmacy and dentistry to Sri Lankan students to pursue higher professional education in Pakistan.