As developing countries combat endemic income inequalities obstructing inclusive opportunities, public scholarship and grants schemes supplement household capacities financing education. Evaluating Pakistan’s flagship Benazir Taleemi Wazifa (BTW) conditional cash transfers against global analogues aids contextualizing design choices and outcomes.
Let’s weigh key policy dimensions adopted locally against other major national models helping elevate underprivileged learners. Beyond Pakistan’s localized adaptations, analyzing best practices transferrable warrants merit given education remains a universal ladder towards progress.
The Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Programme Construct
Launched in 2013, the BTW initiative focuses on spurring school enrollment and sustaining attendance among children of low-income families already registered as beneficiaries under BISP’s broader databases.
The scheme provides quarterly financial grants supporting continuity while stipulating 70% attendance on a rolling three month basis as the key conditionality for uninterrupted aid disbursal. With enrollment having crossed 9 million students till date, BTW signifies Pakistan’s marquee public platform allowing equitable education access and preventing dropouts through financial securitization.
Beyond school-going children, the program now extends eligibility towards madrassa students while also facilitating vocational counseling plus startup incubation for graduating alumni. Thereby, it adopts a lifecycle approach towards empowerment through assured and informed opportunities to counteract inter-generational mobility challenges.
Mexico’s PROGRESA Programme
As the pioneering catalyst scheme behind global adoption of conditional cash transfers in social policy, PROGRESA signified a landmark breakthrough. Launched in 1997, it centred economic assistance for health, nutrition and education strictly against meeting monitored success criteria demonstrating adoption.
For learners, grants disbursed depended on securing above 80% attendance in schools with the twin objectives of enhancing enrollment and preventing dropouts. The constructs resonate closely with BTW’s model given the focus on sustained retention against absenteeism risks.
Over decades, measurable impact has reflected through:
- 24% rise in secondary school completion rates
- 7% uptick in higher education enrollment
- 200% jump in education spending among participating households
Thereby, Progresa established efficacy of tactical financial assistance nudging groups to progress on welfare priorities otherwise beyond reach.
Malaysia’s BUKU JALAN SAYA Scholarship
A notable analogue orienting student aid allocation through unique customized profiling mechanisms is Malaysia’s BJS initiative by Acson International targeting underprivileged high performers.
It conducts independent multi-parameter evaluations beyond mere income constraints covering dimensions like:
- Home environment barriers to learning
- Unique child competencies worthy of further nurturing
- Willingness to undertake vocations with high national demands
Thereafter, selected scholarship recipients undergo regular nurturing of strengths identified through specialized apprenticeships, learning exposures and mentoring engagements with industry partnersacross fast growing sectors.
The frameworks mirror global paradigms like Yale-NUS College using contextualized admissions optimizing compatibility.
India’s Pre and Post Matric Assistance Schemes
Seeking to bolster both school and college participation through seamless access backing, India administers layered assistance schemes centered around sustaining continuity.
Pre-Matric Scholarships aid disadvantaged groups like girls, minorities by supporting admission needs and tuition costs ensuring unbroken education between grades 1-10.
Post-Matric Stipends thereafter focus on offsetting daily expenses from grade 11-PhD bridging potential discontinuity gaps during critical transitions that especially impact first generation enrollees.
Thereby the pre and post coverage offers sustained reinforcement across evolving priorities confronting families through their child’s learning lifecycle.
Summing Up Cross-Cultural Learnings
Contextualizing BTW’s operational constructs relative to optimized global exemplars exposes interdisciplinary learnings transferrable locally:
- Mexico’s reforms highlight attendance adequacy as pivotal for outcomes
- Malaysia’s customization illustrates the power of strengths-based informed assistance
- India’s post matric priority signals the need for unbroken tertiary support
Thereby, adapting proven dimensions suits Pakistan’s realities. With foundational access goals largely accomplished via BTW, the roadmap must elevate towards qualification-centric objectives. By enabling people to soar based on passion and promise, a new dawn beckons.
Nauman is an education policy analyst associated with BISP as senior program consultant for the Benazir Taleemi Wazaif conditional cash transfer initiative. He heads portfolio management for the program including planning, budgeting and performance monitoring. Nauman has over 10 years experience in the social impact space. He completed his MPhil in Economics from Government College University Lahore, focusing his research on financial inclusion for literacy and skills development.