The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is all set to start Talent Hunt Programme for female students across the country. According to HEC, under the programme, female students from low-income families will be granted scholarships on performance basis. The date of opening of online application portal will be announced soon, official sources from HEC told APP on Tuesday. The sources further informed that Talent Hunt Programme is initiated by USAID-funded Merit and Needs Based Scholarship Programme. It aims at to encourage and prepare talented female students from low-income families who aspire for higher education but cannot apply for admission in top Pakistani universities due to lack of finances required to enroll for the professional entry test preparation workshops, they added. It is worth mentioning here that this initiative focuses on identifying bright female students with exceptional Matriculation and FA/FSc results ahead of time, investing in them by offering entry test preparation workshops for their admission in medical, engineering and general universities of Pakistan. As per details of eligibility criteria, the student must be a Pakistan/Azad Jammu & Kashmir national. He/she must belong to a low-income family and must have secured 80 percent or above in Intermediate (1st year) in Engineering/Medical/Computer Sciences Group, while 70 percent or above in Intermediate (1st year) in Social/General Science/Art & Humanities Group. HEC sources said that special preference will be given to female students from rural/less developed districts of Pakistan and the students with different abilities. The application will be scrutinized by the HEC committee to determine eligibility of the applicant. Merit list will be prepared based on academic record and needs-based criteria defined under the program, it added. The offer letters will be issued to top candidates depending upon the available slots.