Islamabad, In a significant move to bolster girls’ education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Department (E and SED) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have initiated a cash-based stipend programme. This partnership aims to enhance access and retention rates for adolescent girls in schools within the Merged Districts (MDs) of KP. The formalization of this initiative was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at an event hosted at the Marriot Hotel.
According to United Nations World Food Programme, the Girls’ Stipend Programme targets over 30,000 girls in grades 6 to 12 across more than 500 government girls’ middle and higher schools in the MDs. Each beneficiary will receive PKR 1000 per month for three years, with the programme costing USD 4.4 million in total. This initiative addresses the high drop-out rates observed at higher grade levels, providing crucial income support to families of adolescent girls to encourage continued education.
The Secretary of Education, Mr. Masood Ahmed, emphasized the critical role of this intervention in laying the foundation for a brighter future, particularly for underprivileged girls in the MDs. With over 1 million children aged 5 to 16 years not enrolled in school in the MDs and a literacy rate of only 33 percent, the programme seeks to address the stark educational challenges in the region.
Coco Ushiyama, the WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Pakistan, underscored the transformative impact of educating girls, noting that female education leads to broader societal benefits, including enhanced food security and nutrition. The initiative builds upon the longstanding collaboration between the E and SED, KP and WFP, which includes a successful pilot cash-based stipend programme in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly boosted enrollment and attendance rates among girls.
The Girls’ Stipend Programme will be overseen by the E and SED with technical assistance from WFP in areas such as cash-based transfer operations and educational staff skill enhancement. This partnership exemplifies the global effort to leverage school-based programmes as social safety nets that can improve children’s access to education and contribute to their overall health and cognitive development.