Interview with Dr. Muhammad Imran Usmani, President of Ihsan Trust
Can you share the story behind creating Ihsan Trust?
Ihsan Trust was inspired by the need-blind admissions concept in foreign universities. Need-blind admission is a term denoting a college admission policy, in which an institution does not consider an applicant’s financial situation, when deciding admission. We decided to bring it to Pakistan, where thousands of deserving candidates are discouraged to apply for higher education institutions, because of their inability to afford them. Ihsan Trust is acting as a beacon of hope for all those students.
What is the mission of Ihsan Trust?
To reach out and help the poor and needy in a manner that is only according to the principles of Islam, so as to take care/look after the well being of poor and needy and to encourage the socio-economic uplift of the low-income community, in order to increase the economic prosperity of the society, ultimately contributing towards the betterment of Pakistan and the Ummah.
What is the eligibility criteria and method of repayment under the Qarz-e-Hasna Programme?
Repayment is on a monthly basis. It starts from the very next month, once the approved funds of the students are directly transferred to the university’s account. The monthly repayment is always mutually agreed upon, and during the study time, the monthly repayment amount is a token amount (depending upon the financial position and condition of the student and his or her family). It could be as low as Rs. 500/- per month and increase later, as per the financial position of the student.
Do the students pay back on time?
Most of the students are very particular in following their agreed repayment schedule. However, there are cases now and then, when due to some unexpected financial need, students are unable to make the repayments on time. In such cases, our repayment team gets in touch to mutually decide and guide them for a new repayment schedule. In some cases, students forget – in such situation, the university cooperation is required for educating students about the importance of repayment of Qarz.
How is Ihsan Trust different from other organisations, when you claim to be the largest interest-free loan provider?
Ihsan Trust is the most unique and different welfare organization, as it is the only organization in Pakistan which is helping and assisting the students without any discrimination of social background, age, religion, income level, and government basic salary restrictions. Ihsan Trust’s flagship program, that is, providing interest-free loan facility to the students on purely need and merit basis, is not restricted to only new admission university students of the first year; rather, the students of the second, third and fourth years as well as those, who have completed their degree programs but are unable not clear their dues at the universities are also eligible to apply.
Moreover, not a single Paisa is ever taken above the principal amount of the loan, the repayment terms are always mutually agreed upon, and in case of death of the student, not a single Paisa is asked from his or her family – rather, the loan is written off.
This is a unique Waqf model, which has been acclaimed internationally. Also, case studies have been done on Ihsan Trust in INCEIF and other universities in Malaysia. We have also been recognized by Islamic Economy Awards in 2017.
At Ihsan Trust, we are always striving to provide the best possible assistance to a large number of students. Alhamdulillah, so far we have provided assistance to around 4,000 students of 140+ universities and professional bodies across Pakistan and these numbers are, Masha’Allah, steadily growing. The success stories, comments, and feedback from our students are available on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ihsantrust.
How can the society support your noble cause of enabling education and uplifting the society?
Human Capital Development is the most important tool for lifting the society, and that is exactly what Ihsan Trust aims to achieve. The repayment and rollover methodology ensures that every single Paisa we receive back as repayment is channelized to provide assistance to new students in need.
Alhamdulillah, we have already assisted more than 3,500 students and this number will cross 4,000 figure mark by the end of 2021. Tthis number could have been higher, but just because of shortage of funds (mainly due to a higher number of loan balances, increase in number of students, and annual increase in the fee of students), we have been declining many cases. Prompt repayment and urgent clearance of the entire loan balance by the students who have completed their degrees and additional support from the society would definitely help us provide assistance to more and more students.
The support from the society will surely help us in achieving our desired goal, which is students (on merit) taking need blind admissions in their first-choice universities and programmes, knowing that Ihsan Trust is there to help and support them in achieving their dreams.
About author
