Prime Minister Laptop Scheme 2017-18: Eligibility Criteria & Online Registration

The 4th and 5th Phase of Prime Minister National Laptop Scheme has been announced by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. Since the schemes under the Prime Minister’s initiative was announced for five years, the Phase-IV and Phase V of the PMLS has been officially launched for 2017-18. During this phase, 200,000 laptops will be distributed amongst the talented and brilliant students according to eligibility and distribution criteria set by the HEC.

Prime Minister Laptop Scheme Eligibility Criteria

Laptops will be provided to following categories of students enrolled in any public sector HEIs of Pakistan and AJK duly recognized by HEC.

Students enrolled not earlier than their respective program duration as per the table below and remained enrolled till June 30, 2017.

• Students studying in public sector Universities/ Degree Awarding Institutes duly recognized by HEC.

o Students enrolled in Ph.D./ MS/ MPhil or equivalent 18-year program

o Students enrolled in 1 or 2-year Master’s degree program (morning and evening)

o Student enrolled in 4-year or 5-year Bachelor degree program (morning and evening)

• Students studying as a distant learner in Virtual University of Pakistan or Allama Iqbal Open University.
• Students studying in government degree or postgraduate colleges of Federal Capital and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
• Students’ eligibility and enrolment status as defined above shall be determined as of June 30, 2016, however, if there is any unforeseen delay causing ineligibility of students, then those students having their online application submitted will maintain their eligibility intact.

• Criteria for Students enrolled in distance learning program at VU and AIOU, and students of polytechnic institutes of Pakistan and AJK shall be defined in coordination with respective universities/ boards and will be updated accordingly.
• No laptop shall be issued to those who have availed in the past from such initiative(s) taken by the government or by the higher education institute.

Merit List Criteria

1. Students having secured 60% marks (for the annual system) or 70% marks (for semester system) or equivalent CGPA/ GPA in the Last examination shall only be considered for the Merit list.
2. HEC defined formula shall govern CGPA/ GPA to Percentage conversion.
3. Any leftover laptops from any distribution level (i.e. Academic level, Departmental, Campus, Institutional, or Provincial Allocation) may be adjusted as per the decision of Project Steering Committee.

Example:

Institutional Allocation= (Institutional enrolment) / (Total enrolment in public HEIs) = 3,848 / 500,000 × 65,000 laptops = 500 laptops.

How to Apply for Prime Minister Laptop Scheme 2017-18

Students are advised to Apply Online by Registering or Updating Profile at the following link of Students’ Service Portal.

http://pmnls.hec.gov.pk

List of Universities for Prime Minister Laptop Scheme

http://hec.gov.pk/english/services/students/pmnls/Pages/Eligible-Universities-Degree-Awarding-Institutes.aspx

Last Date for Prime Minster Laptop Scheme 2017-18

Last date to apply for is 30 September 2017. Students who meet the eligibility criteria are advised to visit PMNLS portal and apply online or update their profiles at www.pmnls.hec.gov.pk

According to HEC, “Similar to the past year, the scheme is conceived as a comprehensive ecosystem around the laptop instead of distributing “black boxes” to students. Ecosystem as envisaged around the laptop hardware for this project consists of various components ranging from licensed/ Genuine Windows 10 Operating System; Microsoft Office365 application software; Training opportunity at Microsoft IT Academy at respective university/ institutes; Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification voucher, 3G EVO Device; and Access to HEC’s National Digital Library using 3G EVO Device. These aspects will not only bring value to money but will create synergy with relevant industries, as well as help HEIs to provide state-of-the-art technologically enabled academic environment at par with HEIs in the developed world.