HEC Opens Undergraduate Scholarships for Balochistan and Ex-FATA Students: Apply by 14 December

HEC posted the advertisement on its programme page on 15 November 2026. The scholarships cover the 2026-27 academic year, in every discipline, at any HEC-recognised public or private university in Pakistan. Students already in a bachelor's programme can apply too.

HEC is taking applications until 14 December 2026

The Batch-V application window runs on the HEC scholarship portal until Monday 14 December 2026. Every applicant then sits an HEC aptitude test, and the scholarships go on merit within each district's quota, split equally between Balochistan and ex-FATA.

The scheme runs under the project "Provision of Higher Education Opportunities for the Students of Balochistan and Erstwhile FATA (Phase-III)". HEC pays the scholarship only. It does not place you in a university, so you still need to apply for admission yourself and meet that university's own rules.

Six eligibility rules decide who can apply

You qualify if you are 22 or younger on the closing date, hold your own and your father's Balochistan or ex-FATA domicile, have 60% in intermediate, and have no other scholarship. Students waiting for a result are not eligible.

The advertisement lists these six conditions:

• Age 22 or less on the closing date of the advertisement.
• Your own and your father's valid domicile or local certificate of Balochistan or ex-FATA, verified by the district administration.
• Twelve years of education with at least 60% marks.
• No other HEC, government or private scholarship at the same time.
• Your qualification must be complete on or before 14 December 2026.
• Candidates awaiting a result cannot apply.

The domicile rule trips up more people than the marks rule. Both certificates must carry the district administration's verification. If yours is missing or old, start now: Balochistan now issues the certificate at NADRA centres with the Rs 200 fee waived, and families in the merged districts can apply for a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa domicile online.

Apply on the HEC portal in seven steps

Create an account on scholarship.hec.gov.pk, fill in the Balochistan and FATA undergraduate form, upload your documents, pay Rs 2,000 through 1Bill, verify the payment and press Submit. No hard copy is needed at this stage.

1. Open the HEC scholarship portal and sign in, or register with your own CNIC or NADRA Juvenile Card.
2. Choose the undergraduate scholarship for students of Balochistan and ex-FATA, Batch-V.
3. Fill in your personal, domicile and education details.
4. Upload your CNIC, your own and your father's domicile (attested by the district administration) and your mark sheets (attested by the boards).
5. Note the consumer number the portal generates and pay the Rs 2,000 test fee through 1Bill Invoice in your bank app, ATM, internet banking or mobile wallet.
6. Go back to the form and click "Verify Online Payment".
7. Click "Submit Application / Verify Payment" and keep the acknowledgement.

Paying the fee is not the same as applying. HEC says saved or incomplete forms are not processed. If you have never paid a 1Bill bill before, the method for paying a 1Bill invoice in any app is the same here.

Under 18 applicants need a Juvenile Card, not a parent's CNIC

HEC rejects any form filed on somebody else's CNIC. An applicant under 18 must apply with a NADRA-verified Juvenile Card and bring the original card to the test, because no other identity document is accepted.

This is the rule most likely to cost a young applicant the whole year. A form on a father's or brother's CNIC is rejected outright. If you are 17 and have only a B-Form, book a NADRA visit now. The steps to get a Juvenile Card before an HEC test take longer than the portal form does.

Check every field before you submit. The HEC page states that nothing can be changed or replaced after final submission, at any stage, before or after the test.

The aptitude test has 100 MCQs in 100 minutes

HEC's Education Testing Council (ETC) runs the test. It has 100 multiple choice questions in 100 minutes: 26 verbal, 32 quantitative and 42 from three subjects that match your intermediate group. You need at least 50% to be considered.

HEC has published the content weightage for all six groups. The test date will be announced by ETC later.

Every group also gets the same 26 verbal reasoning and 32 quantitative reasoning questions. That is 58 of the 100 marks, so English and basic maths matter more than any one subject.

Where to get help before the portal closes

Call HEC on 051-111-119-432, email bf3@hec.gov.pk, or visit the HEC regional centres in Quetta (081-9201791) or Peshawar (091-9219571). HEC asks applicants to settle every problem before the portal closes on 14 December.

• HEC headquarters, H-9, Islamabad: 051-111-119-432.
• HEC Regional Centre Quetta: House No. 61-A, Chaman Housing Scheme, Airport Road, 081-9201791.
• HEC Regional Centre Peshawar: Phase-V Hayatabad, 091-9219571 to 6.

If the portal will not let you sign in, the fixes for an HEC portal login or password problem usually work here too. Students from the coastal belt should also look at the separate HEC coastal region scholarship for Balochistan.

Common questions

What is the last date for the HEC Balochistan and FATA undergraduate scholarship 2026?

The last date is Monday 14 December 2026. Apply online on the HEC scholarship portal before then.

Can I apply if I am already in the first or second year of a BS degree?

Yes. The advertisement says students already enrolled in a bachelor's programme may also apply.

Is there an age limit?

Yes. You must be 22 years old or younger on 14 December 2026.

How much is the test fee and can I get it back?

The fee is Rs 2,000, paid through 1Bill. It is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Does HEC get me admission in a university?

No. HEC pays the scholarship only. You must get admission on your own by meeting the university's criteria.

Do I need to send a hard copy of my documents?

No. HEC says hard copies are not required at this stage. Upload attested copies on the portal.

When is the test?

ETC will announce the test date later. Check your email and the HEC page regularly.

How we verified this

What we checked and where we read it.

We checked the HEC Balochistan and ex-FATA Phase-III programme page on 15 November 2026, along with the Batch-V advertisement image posted there the same day, and the content weightage PDF for the Batch-V test linked from that page. Eligibility, fee, deadline, contact numbers and the test pattern above are from those three documents. The page also links a user manual and a video tutorial for the application form.