ISLAMABAD: As many as 84 laptops under the Prime Minister’s scheme Phase-II were distributed among the students of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) at a ceremony held here on Tuesday. The ceremony was presided over by the Chairman Higher Educational Commission (HEC), Mukhtar Ahmed, who elaborated on the occasion the government’s youth welfare schemes, being implemented through the Commission. The Vice Chancellor AIOU, Shahid Siddiqui, thanked the government and the HEC for including the AIOU’s students in the PM’S scheme. It was a great encouragement to those, who are engaged in upgrading their academic profiles, through the distance learning system. The total number of laptops given to the AIOU under the scheme phase-II was 940 and these were being handed over to the M.Phil and PhD students at their respective regional offices. The excited male and female students received the latest laptop machines with specifications enabling them to use both as a computer as well as a notepad. In addition, an internet device was also a part of the package. Addressing the faculty and students, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, appreciated the AIOU for consistent efforts in upgrading its academic output. He said, the PM’s youth schemes mainly facilitated the people of low-developed regions and helped them to carry on their study at higher education levels on government expenses.