BISP stipend extended to Intermediate students

The Benazir Income Support Programme on Monday approved the inclusion of intermediate students in the Waseela-e-Taleem -- an education conditional cash transfer project.

The BISP board meeting, which was presided over by SAPM on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Sania Nishtar, also declared transgender persons eligible in the Ehsaas Kafalat programme.

According to the decision, higher secondary boys would get Rs3,500 cash stipend and girls would get Rs4,000 on a quarterly basis.

Moreover, all transgender persons having a national identity card would be eligible for the programme. They would be awarded Rs2,000 per month.

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It is pertinent to mention that earlier this month, the BISP Steering Committee had decided to add intermediate – 11th and 12th standard – students in the Waseela-e-Taleem programme.
The decision was then forwarded to the Ehsaas board for final approval.

Under the project, the government provides cash grants to children from the poorest families on the attainment of 70 per cent attendance in school. Moreover, the digitisation of the project is aimed at enhancing primary school enrolments and minimising dropouts.

With such a development, they added that as many as 700,000 students would get the benefit and the government has planned to allocate Rs5 billion worth of funds for the project in the next fiscal year.