KARACHI:
Prime Minister Imran Khan introduced the Ehsaas Education Stipend programme to promote education and safeguard the future of Pakistani students. The programme is available to students in 160 districts of the country, covering all four provinces. It aims to support students from low-income families by providing them incentives. It will grant a higher stipend to girls, which is worth praising. Considering that it is more difficult for girls from low-income families to acquire education, an incentive such as this will be a stepping stone for them. It will also help reassert the importance of education and encourage people to send their children to school instead of keeping them at home or forcing them into labour.
Education is the bedrock of success in any country. Pakistan has already fallen behind on many educational indices. The educational conditions have further worsened because of the pandemic. Many people have had to take their children out of school due to their inability to pay school fees. Therefore, the introduction of this programme could not be timelier. However, it is worth mentioning that just increasing the number of children in schools will not be enough. The educational institutes must also be reformed. Schools should be equipped with proper facilities such as classrooms, libraries, toilets, labs as well as adequate teaching staff. In addition, the criteria for disbursement should change with time. The priority should be to increase presence at school followed by tracking students’ progress in school. There must be transparency in the attainment of education.
We have yet to see the outcome of the programme, but one can hope that initiatives such as these can improve the literacy rate of the country. Education is integral for the development and progress of any country. Therefore, the government must continue undertaking such initiatives to draw students towards education.
Neelam Yasir
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2021.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
