Forty-one students from Balochistan have been selected for the Chinese Ambassador Special Scholarship for Balochistan (Phase III), a fully funded undergraduate program offered in HEC-recognized universities across Pakistan. The initiative, launched under joint collaboration between China and Pakistan, continues to widen educational access for underrepresented students while contributing to the province’s long-term socio-economic development.
According to details , the scholarships fall under the flagship project titled Provision of Higher Education Opportunities for Students of Balochistan & Erstwhile FATA. Selection was made strictly on merit and district quota.
To ensure inclusivity, half of the available seats were reserved for female candidates, while two percent were allocated for students with disabilities. At an award ceremony, Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Abdul Razzaq Sabir distributed scholarship letters and praised the academic dedication shown by the selected students.
This marks the third phase of the program. Earlier, in February 2025, 34 students were awarded Phase II scholarships, reflecting the expanding scale and continued success of the initiative.
Official data shows that over the past decade the government has awarded 6,437 indigenous scholarships and 226 overseas scholarships to students from Balochistan, former FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan. Students from Balochistan received the highest number of indigenous awards, with a total of 3,884 scholarships across undergraduate, MS/MPhil, PhD and MS-to-PhD categories.
These included 99 MS-to-PhD, 396 MS/MPhil, 96 PhD, and 2,793 undergraduate scholarships. In addition, HEC facilitated 226 overseas opportunities exclusively for Balochistan students, including language courses, LLM slots and PhD placements.
These efforts fall within the federal government’s quota policy aimed at ensuring equitable access to higher education through both local and foreign-funded programs.
The province has also seen recent gains in academia-industry collaboration. The University of Gwadar (UoG) signed an MoU with the Chinese company Hangeng to enhance cooperation, create new pathways for employment and expand scholarship avenues for local students.
Earlier this year, on April 29, 2025, 99 students from Gwadar received the Chinese Consular Scholarship. Under a tetra-partite agreement between the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Shandong Institute of Commerce and Technology (SICT) and the University of Gwadar, diploma students enrolled at the Pak-China Vocational and Technical Institute (PCVTI) will complete one year of training in Gwadar.
Their remaining three semesters will be completed at SICT in Shandong, China, providing them with international exposure and advanced technical skills.
These expanding scholarship opportunities and academic partnerships reflect a significant shift in Balochistan’s higher education landscape, offering thousands of students access to quality learning pathways both inside Pakistan and abroad.
