KP government launches scholarship programme to encourage girls’ education

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government announced a scholarship programme in order to encourage more girls in the merged tribal districts to acquire education.

The “Girls Stipend Programme” will provide monthly financial support to female students from sixth till twelfth grade in partnership with the World Food Programme.

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Under the programme, eligible girls will receive a monthly stipend of Rs1,000. The total funding for the scholarship programme is projected at Rs1.14 billion, with the KP provincial government covering 82 per cent of the cost.

The World Food Programme will cover the remaining 18 per cent.

The provincial Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education, Faisal Tarakai, announced that an estimated 30,000 girls from over 500 schools across eight KP districts will benefit from the scholarships.

To qualify, students must maintain a minimum attendance rate of 70 per cent.

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Tarakai stated that the primary aim of the scholarships was to be increase the enrollment of the girls in educational institutions while also reducing the dropout rates in merged districts.

He said that girls account for 70 per cent of the total out-of-school children  in these areas.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a huge gender disparity when it comes to education. Cultural norms, economic issues and limited access to education resources has led to a lower enrollment rate for girls compared to boys.

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The biggest hurdle, however, are patriarchal norms that force girls to stay home while parents prefer to enroll sons in schools only.