Education vouchers: Rs500m to educate children of widows, labourers

Initiative for benefit of 35,000 children

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, under the Education Voucher Scheme, has allocated a fund of Rs500 million to provide educational opportunities for the children of labourers and widows.

This was shared by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, according to a handout issued on Sunday. Under the scheme, the provincial government would provide a voucher to parents which would enable the schools they enroll their children in to receive a fixed amount to cover tuition fee.

The initiative will benefit 35,000 children: 20,000 primary, 10,000 middle and 5,000 high school students.



The focus of the initiative would be on children from the lowest of income groups such as the offspring of labourers, kiln workers, daily wagers, widows and those earning below Rs7,000 a month.

The target families are residents of informal settlements, peri-urban localities and neighbourhoods where schools are not available within a six-kilometre radius, stated Khattak.

While referring to co-curricular activities at schools, the chief minister maintained an amount of Rs100 million was allocated for the provision of sports facilities across K-P. The scheme, he said, was launched to provide a healthy environment at high and higher secondary schools.

Khattak also referred to the monthly stipend scheme for the unemployed yet educated youth of the province. He said as many as 3,600 youngsters had been provided stipends of Rs 2,000 per head. He hoped the reforms of the present government would yield positive results.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2015.