As Pakistan grapples with low literacy levels and an ongoing education crisis, the Benazir Taleemi Wazifa (BTW) programme aims to curb dropout rates and promote enrollment through conditional cash transfers. Initiated in 2013, it has grown significantly in just under a decade.
This article chronicles the historical evolution of BTW against the backdrop of Pakistan’s educational landscape. We analyze programme expansion using district-level data to understand how it has been strategically targeted to cater to areas most in need. Mapping the journey over time provides crucial data-driven perspectives on its importance alongside learnings for continually enhancing access and success rates.
Understanding Pakistan’s Education Crisis
To fully comprehend the genesis of BTW, it is imperative to first recognize Pakistan’s turbulent educational trajectory since independence and how it compares globally:
- The overall literacy rate stands at a meagre 60% – comprising just 51% for females and 71% for males as per 2020 estimates.
- Significant portions of children still remain out-of-school – an estimated 22.8 million as of 2018 according to UNESCO.
- Not just enrollment, the number of dropouts before completing various stages of schooling also remains worryingly high due to intersecting socioeconomic factors.
- Consequently, the country ranks a lowly 152 among 186 countries within the 2021 UNDP Human Development Index’s education component.
It is in the context of these long-standing challenges spanning access, equality, poverty and quality that BISP conceived the novel BTW initiative under the broader national Vision 2025 agenda.
Benazir Taleemi Wazifa Genesis
Administered by BISP (Benazir Income Support Programme), BTW was conceived in 2012 as a targeted intervention scheme for the education sector under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety.
Initial Scope
It was rolled out in late 2013 starting with a modest coverage across 5 underdeveloped districts in the first phase. The programme targeted disadvantaged families already enrolled in BISP’s welfare database for supporting children’s education through conditional cash transfers upon meeting clearly defined criteria.
Design Considerations
BTW was designed based on similar global social safety net models operational in Latin America and Africa that provided financial assistance for removing obstacles to adult literacy and child education. The customized Pakistan model focused on dimensions like:
- Supplementary cash top-ups to educate girl children as a priority to catalyze socioeconomic upliftment.
- Enrollment focused than literacy given the priority need of bringing out-of-school children into the basic education ecosystem.
- Quarterly transfer schedule mapped to academic year to enable procurement of essentials like stationery, uniforms etc.
- Withdrawal of payment upon absenteeism to enforce attendance compliance using Aadhaar biometrics surveillance.
Expansion Roadmap
Beyond the first 5 districts, BTW witnessed gradual yet strategic geographical expansion over 4 distinct phases from 2013-2020:
Phase 1 – 5 pilot districts – Late 2013 Launch
Phase 2 – 27 added districts – November 2015
Phase 3 – 20 further districts – June 2018
Phase 4 – Universal coverage across Pakistan – July 2020
Let us analyze empirically how enrollment access has significantly increased over time in sync with on-ground expansion.
BTW Growth Since Inception through Numbers
Beyond the iterative expansion roadmap, the true impact of BTW at a grassroots level is best reflected quantitatively – the trends speak for themselves:
| Time Period | Additional Districts Covered | Total Children Enrolled | Funds Disbursed (PKR billion) |
| FY 2013-14 | 5 pilot districts | 32,983 | 0.084 |
Incremental District Onboarding
During the second phase from 2015-2018 when coverage increased from 5 to 32 districts, enrolment witnesses a nearly twenty-fold jump – from 32,983 to 670,106 registered children.
Simultaneously, the scale of cash assistance grew six times from PKR 84 million to PKR 1.86 billion over Phase 2.
Thereon, the launch of universal coverage in 2020 enabled an unprecedented spike in enrolled beneficiaries to ~9.4 million children along with accumulated fund disbursal crossing PKR 40 billion – as depicted in the visual snapshot above.
Thus consistent targeting of disadvantaged pockets combined with awareness drives among BISP profiled households catalyzed the exceptional country-wide increase.
Regional Variations in BTW Enrollment Rates
While post-2020 the programme encompasses all 160 districts across Pakistan’s four provinces, mapping region-wise adoption trends reveals varying traction attributable to local dynamics.
Spatial Analysis Insights
Drilling down the provincial growth patterns, we uncover intriguing aspects:
- The numerical surge skews disproportionately towards certain provinces – led by Punjab clocking nearly 5 million BTW kids compared to KPK crossing 2 million.
- Yet penetration measured against population is actually greater within Balochistan and KPK versus Punjab or Sindh, highlighting their higher concentration of targeted communities.
- Enrollment figures assessed over time signal rising traction in Gilgit-Baltistan after 2018 – indicative of awareness campaigns now extending coverage to remote Northern areas.
The relative provincial appetites validate effectiveness from synthesizing need-based priorities and community mobilization – essential learning as BTW looks to onboard the remaining out-of-school student groups.
The Road Ahead
As the BTW journey persists backed by credible evidence of active registration and utilization of educational stipends, BISP must also maintain continuity of outcomes through beneficiaries completing various stages of learning cycles.
With the majority of enrollments happening only post-2018, the bigger test remains whether retention and pass rates also sustain in the long run after the initial financial support phases out upon finishing school. Furthermore, resolving systemic public education gaps in quality, infrastructure etc can complement tactical funding programmes to raise Pakistan’s learning curve holistically at scale.
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.