Teachers play a critical role in preparing Pakistan’s youth for a promising future. To attract strong teacher candidates into the recently introduced ADE and B.Ed. (Hons.) programs and create a strong, professional teacher workforce, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Pakistan Reading Project provides qualifying students with merit-based scholarships to enroll in and complete their studies. The scholarship program is being implemented in close collaboration with the provincial and regional departments of education, universities and elementary teacher education colleges.

The Pakistan Reading Project will distribute over 3,649 scholarships and provide mentoring for individuals seeking higher education. This includes scholarships for both pre- and in-service teachers who wish to enroll in the ADE and B.Ed. (Hons.) programs as well as scholarships for instructors and faculty who want to upgrade their qualifications. The distribution of scholarships is merit-based, inclusive of women and minorities, and is geographically distributed across Pakistan.

The scholarships program is designed to encourage increased enrollment in the ADE and B.Ed. (Hons.) programs and to improve the quality of intake within these programs.  The program attracts the “best and brightest” while also maintaining a commitment to inclusive access to higher education and the teaching profession.  The ultimate objective of the scholarship program is to motivate young and more qualified candidates to become teachers by choice and enable committed in-service teachers and instructors to upgrade their skills.