Waseela Taleem program: 'Stipend amount increased for deserving students'

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar said on Thursday that stipend amount for deserving students has been increased under Waseela Taleem program, whereas, the scope of the project is being expanded to the entire country, ARY News reported.

Dr Sania Nishtar, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, said that boys will be given a quarterly stipend of Rs1,500 and Rs2,000 to girls under the Waseela Taleem program that is aiming to encourage poor families to send their children aged 4 to 12 to schools.

The special assistant detailed that a total of Rs80 billion will be spent on the education program in the next four years.

In order to maintain accuracy and transparency, the government adopted digital procedures for scrutinising the deserving persons following the pattern of other programs of Ehsaas. She said that the concerned authorities contact the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) to verify the deserving woman’s identity card.

She said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will be given a detailed briefing on the program during his visit to Balochistan on Friday (tomorrow). Two million children have been registered with the program which will be expanded to five million, whereas, all districts of Balochistan are also included in it, she added.

Dr Nishtar said that the new phase of Waseela Taleem program was initiated on Wednesday which was previously being run by a non-governmental organisation (NGO). She said that the federal government will not completely rely on NGOs and took steps for ending corruption.