Direct transfer of stipends to girls in Bangladesh inspires similar programs in other countries

The success of an innovative program developed by the Government of Bangladesh in the early 1990s to enhance girls’ access to secondary education has inspired similar programs in other countries. The Bangladesh Female Secondary School Assistance Program provided tuition stipends, transferred directly from banks to individual girls’ bank accounts. This program improved the quality of schools through teacher training, provision of performance incentives to schools and students, and water and sanitation facilities, in 119 of Bangladesh’s 480 sub-districts.

The program, recognized worldwide as a pioneering undertaking, has inspired other countries to implement a similar stipend or conditional cash transfer programs with World Bank support.

In Pakistan, it is estimated that only 57% of girls and women can read and write and in rural areas only 22% of girls have completed primary level schooling as compared to 47% of boys. In 2003, the Punjab government with assistance from the World Bank implemented the “Girls' Stipend Program” which provided a cash stipend of Rs. 200 to families to ensure their daughters attend school. Girls’ enrollment in secondary schools in the 15 poorest districts in Punjab increased by 60% from 175,000 to 280,000 since 2003. This project was extended to include high school girls as well.

“Girls are less able than boys to take public transportation or walk to school in Pakistan’s social context, and the cost of private transport – roughly equivalent to the 200 Rupees stipend - was the binding constraint for poor families,” said Khalid Gillani, Secretary of Education in Punjab Province.

Pakistan’s national Bait –Ul-Mal program, started after the 2005 earthquake, extended food support for poor households on the basis of conditional cash transfers. A pilot child support program is currently being developed aiming at increasing enrollment of these poor households at the primary level.

In Punjab province, the Bait-Ul-Mal along with the Punjab Government’s education program has shown impressive results. At a school in Kasur district, 90 9th graders are elbow to elbow on the floor in a roughly 20 by 15 foot classroom. As girls going to school increased significantly, the program is now facing new challenges in hiring more teachers, building new schools, and ensuring that the quality of service is maintained.

The Pakistan government is currently drafting a “National Strategy on Social Protection” which - according to Zobaida Jalal, Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education - “is to direct support to the 10% most vulnerable households through Girls Stipend programs for education, health and livelihoods.”

This story is adapted from an article on the World Bank website.

 

For more stories relating to girls education, see:

Gift of a goat from US schoolchildren leads to Ugandan village’s first college graduate

Girl Child Network empowers the voiceless in Zimbabwe

One man's promise brings hope to remote Central Asian villages

First female governor brings attention to women, children in Madagascar

Affordable menstrual pads keep girls in school, create jobs


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