According to the World Bank, Bangladesh's primary school enrolment has increased from 80 per cent in 2000 to 98 per cent in 2015. In 2003 the Government of Bangladesh launched a conditional cash transfer scheme, the Stipend for Primary Students (PESP), in order to provide assistance to the poor to meet their nutritional and education needs and break the intergenerational poverty cycle. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME) operates the scheme with a budget of approximately BDT 3.9 billion, or USD 500 million, allocated to conditional cash transfers targeting children through 62,087 primary schools in 3208 unions of the country. The MOPME operates the scheme with a budget of approximately USD 658 million, allocated to conditional cash transfers targeting children.
The PESP provides eligible families with BDT 100, or USD 1.30, per student per month and BDT 125, or USD 1.60, for each additional student in the same family. These conditional cash transfers are made available to eligible families, such as those headed by single mothers, widows, day-labourers, families of low-income rural labour and trade groups (fishermen, weavers, potters, carpenters, cobblers, blacksmiths etc.), families of autistic students, and families of vulnerable ethnic communities. In order to qualify for the stipend, selected students must maintain 85 per cent monthly school attendance and achieve grades of at least 50 per cent on the annual exam. To continue to participate in the program, a school must demonstrate at least 60 per cent student attendance, and 10 per cent of its grade 5 students must sit for the Primary School Scholarship Exam. The PESP reaches approximately 7.8 million students from the poorest households who are enrolled in eligible primary schools throughout the rural areas of Bangladesh. The PESP reaches nearly 80 per cent of primary school students in rural areas identified as having the highest poverty rate. As increase to 82,500 students are to be nominated every year for government stipends from 55,000 students, 33,000 of the students will be placed in a talent pool receive scholarships of TP 300 per month whereas the rest placed in the general category receive TK 225, an increase of To 100 and TK 75, respectively.
The PESP in Bangladesh complements free and compulsory primary education enacted in 1990. However, not all children have been able to attend due to financial and other restrictions. The PESP has been introduced in order to increase enrolment rates, reduce drop out rates and increase literacy. Targeted schemes such as PESP, which could compliment more universal schemes, represent an important step in building a national social protection floor and ensuring that entitlements remain equally accessible to populations facing vulnerability.
Further Reading:
Karen Tietjen (2003). The Bangladesh Primary Education Stipend Project: A Descriptive Analysis. World Bank, Washington DC.