Zindagi Trust-Geting Paid to Study...

It was heartening to the read the methods employed by Bolsa Familia and Opurtunidades in Brazil and Mexico respectively.  I was particularly impressed by the work done with regards to how the monthly payments translated into better levels of education. I would like to use this blog to highlight a similar initiative in Pakistan, with the only difference being that its primary aim is to improve education levels directly. The program is aptly titled “Paid to Learn” and is run under the auspices of the Zindagi Trust, a nonprofit welfare organization. The project is the brainchild of Pakistani pop star Shehzad Roy.

The program works by paying every child a set rate of around Rs. 20 every day.  In return the children have to attend school regularly and submit homework on time. Any indiscipline with regard to behavior or tardiness results in the payment for the day being held back. The program specifically targets primary education for children who are working in the slums of Pakistan. The program rewards the top students of the program with a scholarship for continuing education. The idea is to substitute child labor with education. The curriculum is based on an accelerated program with an emphasis on math, science, social sciences, English and Urdu.

Parents are contacted and their permission is sought before enrolling any children in the program as in Pakistan the biggest proponents of child labor are the parents themselves. The parents normally have large families of up to six children all with only a few years age difference between the kids themselves. This means that the eldest child has to “grow up” very quickly to aid with the household income and can be earning on the streets as quick as his/her eighth birthday. The “Paid to Learn” program promises a fixed income and the hope of a better future through education but to the concerned parents the current income normally matters much more than future prospects. The program has up to 2800 children in it at one time out of which at least a 1000 graduate each year. More information can be found at http://www.zindagitrust.org/index.php.

In Mexico and Brazil poverty as a whole has been scaled back by targeting purchasing power directly, with better education as a spillover. It seems however though that this approach has been more successful than the ZIndagi Trust in Pakistan even though over here the sole target is better education. The basic difference it seems to be is funding; in Pakistan the work is being done on a non-profit basis and is heavily reliant on donors whereas in the Latin American countries the program has government support. The question is, if both programs had government support or rather the same endowment, then which one would have more of a benefit to society? The program that targets better education directly or as an after effect?