ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood has told the Senate that a total of 11,991 students have completed their PhD degree programs from local universities while 2,160 students have completed their PhD degrees from foreign universities during the last 10 years.
In response to a question by Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh, Shafqat Mahmood told the House in written that during the last 10 years, 11,991 students including 7,997 male and 3,994 female students completed their PhD degrees from local universities.
The minister told that out of 11,991 students, 4,999 belonged to Punjab, 2,024 to Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 2,300 to Sindh, 1,545 to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 66 to Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), 54 to Balochistan, and three to Gilgit Baltistan.
Likewise, he told that, there are 2,160 HEC Scholars including 1,767 male and 393 female – 1,019 from Punjab/ICT, 495 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 494 from Sindh, 91 from Balochistan, 40 from AJK, and 21 from FATA/Gilgit Baltistan – who completed their PhD degrees from foreign universities during the said period.
Shafqat Mahmood further told that there are  15 (13 Public and 2 Private) Engineering Universities/ Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Country.
The education minister also told that a total of 494 seats are reserved for (450 male & 44 female) students of Balochistan in the HEIs.
The university-wise and province-wise quota prescribed for male and female students of Balochistan in public and private engineering sector universities/HEIs is;
