Uzair bin Farid

Three million children have been enrolled in schools under the flagship social protection program of the government, Benazir Taleemi Wazaif (education scholarship) Program, during the July-March period of the fiscal year 2022-23. According to Economic Survey of Pakistan 2022-23, the program covers primary, secondary and higher secondary levels of education. Boys are paid Rs1,500 each per quarter for primary level education, whereas girls are paid Rs2,000 each per quarter for the same level of education. For secondary level education, boys and girls are paid Rs2,500 and Rs3,000 each per quarter, respectively. And for higher secondary education level, the stipend rates are 3,500 and 4,000 for each boy and girl enrolled in school, respectively.

Scholarship rates for boys and girls

Initially, the program was launched to raise the level of literacy in the country under the commitments to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2012 by helping underprivileged students to enrol in schools at the primary level. To achieve that end, additional cash transfers were made to the families of Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) beneficiaries to help them send their children to school. However, in 2021, the government felt a need to support the underprivileged families to help them get their children through secondary and higher secondary schools. Thereafter, the scope of the program was expanded to broaden the net of protection under Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Program. The transfer of money is incumbent upon the student meeting the eligibility criteria and the conditions of minimum attendance and grades in school.

The first step is the verification of the child in the form of birth-form (B-Form) or child registration certificate (CRC) from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). After the initial screening, the child gets eligible for receiving the transfers through the program. A student must attend school/college for at least 70% of the effective days of teaching to become eligible for the disbursement in the next quarter. The age groups corresponding to different levels of eligibility for the program are 4-12 years for primary education, 8-18 years for secondary education, and 13-22 years for higher secondary education. The program has succeeded in enrolling 11.8 million children at different levels of schooling since its launch back in 2012. About 3 million children have been enrolled the July-March period of FY23 alone. The total disbursement under the program has been Rs63.3 billion so far, of which Rs23.4 billion was disbursed during July-March FY23.

Credit: INP-WealthPk