ISLAMABAD: A maiden meeting of the Ehsaas steering committee for Waseela-e-Taleem Digital, an education conditional cash transfer programme was convened under the chair of SAPM Dr Sania Nishtar.

The steering committee members were briefed on the massively reformed Waseela-e-Taleem Digital, that has massively been reformed and scaled up through end-to-end digitization, cost effective changes in institutional infrastructure, new stipend policy, and nationwide expansion across all districts.

The Rs 80 billion programme will bring five million deserving primary school children into its fold from across all 154 districts of Pakistan over a 4-year duration.

The steering committee reviewed the programme performance, discussed the way forward and explored options to enhance the outcomes of the programme capitalizing on conditionalities introduced in the programme.

Terms of reference of the steering committee were also principally crystallized in consultation with committee members.

“The purpose of the deep-rooted digital reform in Waseela-e-Taleem under Ehsaas was to promote integrity, transparency, accountability and to improve targeting. And, the programme has been scaled up nationwide to address the problem of out of school children”, said SAPM Dr Sania Nishtar. Adding further, she said, “As per Ehsaas payment policy, all payments are biometrically verified in real time; girls get Rs. 2000 and boys get Rs. 1500 per quarter, when 70% school attendance is ensured.”

It was agreed that a sub-committee will be constituted with experts from the steering committee stakeholders and provinces for a deep dive into the deep-rooted reforms and integrations in the education conditional cash transfer programme. The steering committee will meet biannually to review the progress and strategic direction of programme.—PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021