The National Outreach Programme (NOP) at LUMS is a prestigious scholarship that aims to educate brilliant individuals from underprivileged backgrounds from across Pakistan. As part of the programme, the NOP outreach team visits different areas in Pakistan to seek out talented students. During an outreach visit to the Swat Valley from October 7–11, 2019, the team visited 10 colleges and held information sessions with approximately 900 students across the cities of Swat, Chitral, Timergara, Kuragh, Mingora and Saidu Sharif.
The presentations highlighted the state-of-the-art facilities available at LUMS, as well as the University’s focus on producing cutting edge research. The team also talked about the faculty members – the majority of which have doctorate degrees from the finest institutions around the world. The team also shared an overview of the Programme, as well as the application process. This visit marked the first time that Outreach had been extended to the small town of Kuragh – 2.5 hours away from the main city of Chitral, where the team also met the students of Aga Khan Higher Secondary College.
The team was pleased to note the enthusiasm of the students, and their commitment to education. All students had scored more than 80% in their Matric examinations. The feedback received was very positive. Jaffar Ali, Admin Head Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Chitral, stated that the session held was excellent and would surely motivate students to pursue their higher education goals. The Outreach efforts in the Swat Valley were a success overall, and the team is confident that promising applications will be received from this area for the 2020 NOP Summer Coaching Session.
