Quetta:Planning and Development Department Balochistan has demanded that 40-50% of the proposed twenty thousand scholarships proposed under the “Socio-Economic Development” component of CPEC should be reserved for the students of Balochistan along with transferring of management of these scholarships to provincial government.
Abdul Rehman Buzdar, Additional Chief Secretary (Dev), Planning and Development Department, Government of Balochistan has taken up the issue of fixing quota for Balochistan in the twenty thousand scholarships proposed under the “Socio-Economic Development” component of CPEC with Federal Ministry for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Islamabad.
In a letter addressed to Secretary, Federal Ministry for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Islamabad, he wrote, “Balochistan is an important partner and stakeholder in the multi-billion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The province is not only home to the most important node city of CPEC i.e., Gwadar but also connects the western part of China with the Gulf region via sea.
The Government of Balochistan is committed to take all measures required to fully harness the potential opportunities presented by CPEC. Among the others, the Government of Balochistan is keen to invest in developing the human capital of the province. The true potential of CPEC for the people of Balochistan cannot be realized without developing the province’s human resource base. It was against this background that the Government of Balochistan submitted proposals on higher education scholarships and technical and vocational training in March 2019 for consideration under the “Socio-Economic Development” umbrella of CPEC.
Subsequently, in June 2019, the Federal Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives (MPDSI) shared a priority list of twenty-seven projects shortlisted by the Chinese side for implementation through the USD 1 Billion grant for socio-economic development. The Government of Balochistan had certain reservations regarding these shortlisted projects and conveyed the same to your office on 29th October, 2019 via letter NO. PandD-CPEC/ 2018/ L-35. Among the others, the Government of Balochistan had expressed concerns regarding the “Overseas Student Scholarship Program” proposed in the 27 priority projects. Since a response to our letter is awaited, the concerns of Government of Balochistan regarding the scholarship program are reiterated and elaborated further for your kind perusal and consideration.
The overseas Student Scholarship Program is about the provision of twenty thousand scholarships to Pakistani students in Chinese Universities. The Government of Balochistan wants that 40-50% of these scholarships be reserved for the students of Balochistan. The Government of Balochistan had made this demand at the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Socio-Economic Development held in Beijing in December 2018 and subsequently submitted detailed proposals containing information about prioritized disciplines, eligibility criteria and management modalities. The rationale for this demand is as follows; (A) Balochistan did not benefit much from the Early Harvest Phase (EHP of CPEC, which came to an end in 2018. During the EHP, not even a single infrastructure project was completed in Balochistan under the frame work of CPEC.”
He further writes: “Nearly all investments made in the EHP of CPEC were outside Balochistan. Now that the focus of CPEC is shifting towards industrial cooperation and development, Balochistan is unlikely to benefit from it either, owing to weak infrastructure and poor human resource base. Therefore, in order