TITLE:
Conditional Cash Transfers: Expanding Higher Education through Social and Economic Support in Pakistan
AUTHORS:
Barkat Ullah Khan, Syed Nadir Ali Shah, Rabia Gul
KEYWORDS:
Conditional Cash Transfer, Youth Education, HEC Need-Based Scholarships, Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme, Pakistan
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.8 No.1,
January
14,
2020
ABSTRACT: This study was motivated by the initiatives of the Higher Education Commission
(HEC) of Pakistan that provides various conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to
youth education in the less developed areas of the country. The CCTs are given
to youth in the shape of HEC Need-Based Scholarships (HEC-NBS) and the Prime
Minister’s Fee Reimbursement Scheme (PMFRS). This study investigates the impact of
the CCTs on the educational performance of the students in the under-developed
areas of Pakistan. Data were gathered through self-administered questionnaires
from the students who were awardees of the scholarships. A total of 350
responses were used for the final analysis. A statistical package for social
sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to get the data analyzed. It was found that
the two CCTs (HEC-NBS and PMFRS) substantially affect the educational performance
of the students. The PMFRS was the most dominant predictor of the students’
performance indicating a high tangible source of students’ motivation. This
study helps in both theoretical and practical spectrums. It practically helps
expand the higher education to every nook of the country as well as light the
policy-making outlines to sustain the CCTs for the better future of higher
education in Pakistan.