A Programme Six Decades in the Making

The origin of the Financial Aid Program dates back to the late 1960s. It started as an initiative by Prof. Rose Madan and Prof. Basharat Yousuf, who entrusted Dr. Tasneem Amir — then working as a demonstrator — with the responsibility of organising a small fund for FJMC students who needed financial assistance. Dr. Tasneem Amir began informally reaching out to donors, and thus started what would later become one of the most well-organised and comprehensive financial assistance programmes for medical students in the region.

Dr. Sauda Maqsood took over from Dr. Tasneem Amir in the mid-1980s and continued in the same informal fashion until 1998. It was in the late 1990s that the programme had expanded enough that Dr. Tasneem assembled an official Scholarship Committee — comprising Prof. Iffat Badar, Prof. Nasreen Sharif and Prof. Muniza Qayyum — to oversee its affairs.

Dr. Tasneem Amir retired in 2002 and Prof. Nasreen Sharif was made Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee. She passed on the mantle to Prof. Rakhshanda Rehman, who eventually handed it to Prof. Muniza Qayyum. After taking charge as Convener of the committee, she instated Dr. Sofia Abbasi as Deputy Director of the Financial Aid Program. As the programme became more organised, more donors came forward. Prof. Sardar Fakhar Imam, who was Vice Chancellor at the time, recruited PEF in 2015 — currently one of the largest donors to the programme.

How Financial Aid Works

The committee aims to make quality education accessible to meritorious and financially challenged students. FJMU offers a personalised financial aid programme to each admitted student as per her financial needs. The financial need is assessed through the financial aid application at the time of admission. Students are short-listed on the basis of their applications, and interviews are then held to ensure transparency. Grants are subject to an annual review of a student’s financial circumstances and academic performance.

The Financial Aid / Scholarship Program is supported by a large number of sincere and generous donors, at both national and international level, who facilitate students in the form of fully funded financial assistance. The financial support includes college fee, hostel fee and mess fee — helping financially challenged students earn their degree with dignity and self-respect.

Supporting Organisations

At present the Financial Aid programme is supported by various government and non-government organisations, detailed below.