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.
The quality education is an essential element for the educational development of any country because only high standard education can help achieve the millennium goals. Baum, Ma and Payea [
The CCTs that were initiated in 1990 were named as “Home Grown” in Brazil and Mexico. These CCTs were granted with a view to help the dejected and the poor sections of their society and thus enable them to go with the mainstream in getting a higher education [
The Government of Pakistan also adopted such programs of CCTs to facilitate various divisions particularly the education sector. Pakistan is among the emerging economies and is making ceaseless efforts to follow the successful schemes of developed countries to promote its higher education in all of its areas [
Past studies on CCTs reveal that, in general, these plans have positive impacts on education; for example, they help increase students’ enrollment, improves presence, reduces dropouts from university etc. and yields in health-related positive results such as inoculations and regular check-ups [
It is worth mentionable that the HEC need based scholarship was started in the start of 2019 with the aim to provide assistance to the talented students who are the apples of poor families and disadvantaged class. They were incapable to meet their educational expenses, so they were made eligible for the scholarships. To this end, HEC Pakistan has established a special online portal as well as directed all the universities in the less-developed areas to register deserving students for the scholarships. Similarly, the Prime Minister of Pakistan initiated a huge package (around Rs Billion) for six schemes including the prime minister laptop scheme in Pakistan. This program has a target “to encourage an energetic and harmonious Pakistani youth with strong spiritual and moral values”.
This study focuses on the development of CCT as a social investment as well as an economic instrument that has many implications for the students and researchers in Pakistan. To this end, the study will analyze the short term and long term progress and will find the hurdles, if any, in the development of CCTs in Pakistan. The study is the first one exploring the impact of CCTs (HEC Need-Based Scholarships and Prime Minister’s Fee Reimbursement Scheme) on students’ academic achievement and promotion. Such type of study has not so far conducted in the Asian region or in the context of developing countries like Pakistan. This study will not only helpful for the needy people to get their higher education but also will achieve the targets of education enrollments in the higher education institutions of Pakistan. To sum up, the study aims to explore the achievement status of Short term and long term objectives of HEC need-based scholarships and the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Program on students’ educational performance.
Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) were developed as an innovative plan in the decade of the 1990s as an element of social protection actions in order to support the poor and deprived people of the country [
In accordance with the Benhassine et al. [
Some researchers highlighted that the help which is given in the form of cash for the welfare of children is not sufficient. Poor families are unable to fulfill their requirements and basic desires neither from the unconditional nor from conditional aid; so they ultimately involve their children in the workforce [
De Brauw and Hoddinott [
There is a strong verification that CCT programs have a noteworthy impact on rising university admission rates, particularly for getting a higher education. The anticipated impacts vary from a seven to nine percent rise for girls and a three to five percent increase for boys in secondary school [
CCT schemes can impact students’ accomplishments by various potential means. A study has observed that student attendance rises as a result of the CCT plan [
High family earnings may decrease the stress on youth to work outside their home which reduces the students’ university attendance or also affects the completion of their home assignments and projects in time. Certainly, the study has exposed that CCT schemes have decreased child labor force [
Educational institutes and professors might be challenged by handling both formerly enrolled students and a new enroller who is required to join the wagon. If the ability of the educator and instructional alteration is insufficient, this variety can indirectly impact the learning and exam grades of the students. Moreover, newly enrolled students with lesser aptitude or negative behavior toward studies can negatively impact the other students of the same course. A study from mostly emerged nations has shown that students are influenced by peer attainment [
According to Memon and Awan [
Pakistan is a symbol of several global obligations about the objective of worldwide education such as education for all, Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [
Pakistan has dedicated to the Education for all (EFA) objectives that include attaining a fifty percent development in adult education rates by the year 2018, alongside with the reasonable access of education for everyone [
People mainly learn during their youth and they study not only through course books or educational institutes but also by means of practical experience either by adopting capabilities around the house or doing any job. These experiences arise under the wide shade of education. The human growth perception views education as one of the major techniques for increasing the skills and abilities of youth, liberalism and alternatives [
It is an immense need of the hour to emphasize on offering a high quality of education rather than only focusing on the quantity in Pakistan [
The population of this research comprised of the universities’ students who are awardees of the CCTs, that is, either received/receiving the HEC need-based scholarship or got/getting Prime Minister’s Fee Reimbursement Scheme (PMFRS). The sample for the study was taken from four districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Pakistan. Only those districts (Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat, and Dera Ismail Khan) were selected for data collection that was in
the less developed areas and was duly eligible for the PMFRS. In this respect, a self-administered questionnaire, that was adapted from previous studies, was used for data collection. More specifically, using a purposive sampling technique, a total of 300 questionnaires were distributed in the higher education institutions of the four districts. The researchers personally visited the said districts and administered the questionnaire carefully and ethically. They were present at the moment for clarifying any query/difficulty where the students responded in a free atmosphere. In a total of 300 respondents, 54% were female and 46% were male students. The sample consisted of 28% of students below 20 years and 72% of students were aged in-between 21 - 23 years. In the sample of 300 participants, 42% were bachelor students and 58% were from masters and above students.
After collecting the required data from respondents, the data were analyzed through SPSS version 25. The performance of the students is measured through their CGPA in different semesters because it has been utilized in several past studies [
To test the reliability of the scale we calculated Cronbach Alfa value of each construct in SPSS. If the Cronbach Alfa value is greater than a = 0.07 it is acceptable in social sciences study and data is valid overall. The reliability of our data was good as the results show the Cronbach Alfa value of HEC Need-Based Scholarship (NBS) 0.852 and Prime Minster Laptop Scheme (PLS) 0.799 which is greater than the standard level.
N | Minimum | Maximum | Mean | Std. Deviation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HEC Need Based Scholarship | 300 | 10 | 20 | 12.27 | 0.927 |
Prime Minister Laptop Scheme | 300 | 15 | 30 | 16.72 | 0.950 |
Students’ Academic Performance | 300 | 5 | 10 | 6.25 | 0.485 |
Valid N | 300 |
HEC-Need-Based scholarship is 10 while the maximum value is 20. Similarly, the Mean value is 12.27 with a standard deviation of 0.927. The Minimum value of the Prime Minister Laptop Scheme is 15 while the maximum value is 30. Moreover, its Mean value is 16.72 with a standard deviation of 0.950. The Minimum value of the students’ academic performance is 5 while the maximum value is 10. The Mean value is 6.25 with a standard deviation of 0.485.
To check the productivity and achievement of Government laptop scheme in the short run, different questions have been asked. “Time you were used to spending before getting a laptop on watching movies” and “Time you spend on your laptop which you got from Government Laptop Scheme, for Watching movies”. The results show that most of the students used spending their time (1 hour or less) on watching movies before the Government Laptop Program. The result of the second question shows an increase in the usage of laptops by the students from 1 - 2 hours and 2 - 4 hours for watching movies after getting the laptop through the Government Laptop Program. This increase leads to the non-productive use of the laptop for the short term as the majority of the students are using laptops for entertainment purposes hence ignoring the productive purposes.
“Time that you were spending before getting a laptop for playing games” and “Time you spend on your laptop which you got from Government Laptop Scheme for playing games”.
Need-Based Scholarship | 1 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Prime Minister Laptop Scheme | 0.350** | 1 | |
Student Academic Performance | 0.248** | 0.425** | 1 |
“Time you were used to spending before getting a laptop on social media” and “Time you spend on your laptop which you got from Government Laptop Scheme, for social media”. The results show that most students before getting the laptop through the Government Laptop Program used to spend 1 hour or less (1 - 2 hours) on social media, yet an increase was reported in the usage of laptop by the students after getting the laptop through the Government Laptop Program i.e., 4 - 6 hours and 6 hours or above for social media. This was attributable to the fact the most of the students tend to use laptops for their entertainment purposes.
The overall analysis, as depicted by
Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Valid | 1 hour or less | 52 | 17.3 | 17.3 | 17.3 |
1 - 2 hours | 113 | 37.7 | 37.7 | 55.0 | |
2 - 4 hours | 126 | 42.0 | 42.0 | 97.0 | |
4 - 6 hours | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 98.0 | |
6 hours or above | 6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 100.0 | |
Total | 300 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Valid | 1 hour or less | 218 | 72.7 | 72.7 | 72.7 |
1 - 2 hours | 50 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 89.3 | |
2 - 4 hours | 32 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 100.0 | |
Total | 300 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Making your presentations and assignments i.e. for your study related work | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
Valid | 1 hour or less | 39 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
1 - 2 hours | 81 | 27.0 | 27.0 | 40.0 | |
2 - 4 hours | 83 | 27.7 | 27.7 | 67.7 | |
4 - 6 hours | 39 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 80.7 | |
6 hours or above | 58 | 19.3 | 19.3 | 100.0 | |
Total | 300 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Coefficientsa | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Model 1 | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
1 | (Constant) | 25.804 | 1.727 | 14.944 | 0.000 | |
Need-Based Scholarship (NBS) | 7.247 | 0.057 | 0.248 | 2.575 | 0.000 |
a. Dependent variable: Student academic performance.
HEC need-based scholarship and student academic performance because the P-value is less than the required 1% - 5% level and the model explains (R2 = 24.8%) variance in the dependent variable which is quite good in such type of studies. Our results indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between HEC need-based scholarship and student academic performance. The overall model is fit for getting insights and recommendations for policymaking. The significance value is 0.000 which represents a high level of importance and confidence in data. The need-based scholarship adds more value to the students’ academic performance in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It implies that the government of Pakistan should continue and strengthen the program for a better and brighter future of the students. Higher the scholarships will give higher results in the far lung areas of Pakistan.
This study was solely motivated by the socio-economic investments to investigate the worth and effectiveness of conditional cash transfers to students (HEC Need-based Scholarship and Prime minister laptop scheme) in the underdeveloped areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The study finds very interesting results that are worth considering in policy formulations by Higher Education Commission and other regulatory bodies. The first CCT i.e., HEC need-based scholarship was found very helpful in getting high enrollment, thus
Coefficientsa | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Model 2 | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
1 | (Constant) | 30.263 | 0.633 | 12.841 | 0.000 | |
Prime Minister Laptop Scheme (PMLS) | 6.283 | 0.220 | 0.372 | 4.036 | 0.000 |
a. Dependent variable: Student academic performance.
increasing the ratio of higher education in Pakistan. The less-developed regions and the students over there were truly supported by the scheme. They were on the verge of leaving their higher education but the CCT attracted them and now they are pleasantly continuing their education in the higher education institutions and universities.
The study also found the productivity and effectiveness of the Prime minister laptop scheme in terms of their usages. From our analysis, we got that most of the students spend their huge time on learning and educational purposes. Only one hour is being spent for watching movies or other videos by the students who got laptops from the government. The study further found that almost one hour of the students’ time is being spent on video games. The devotion of students’ time to social media was reported to be high as some students spend 5 - 6 hours using social networking sites. Besides the educational purposes, the study also got the results that the PM laptops are used for career counseling, career development and finding jobs in various organizations local as well as abroad.
In our survey, different questions have been asked in order to check the productivity and achievement of HEC need-based scholarship and Government laptop scheme for the long run as well short run. Some students viewed that laptops have not helped them in their academic and professional skills. Moreover, the majority of the students who got the laptop through the Government laptop program agree that they are getting into the technology-orientation by using these laptops. On the flip side, some outcomes were not encouraging that showed low students’ productivity in terms of academics, education or technology orientation.
This research concludes that conditional cash transfer (CCTs) plans are effective in the settings in which preliminary enrollment and presence situations are comparatively weak and as a result, specifically useful in enhancing the educational results of the youth. This is also advisable to set some criteria for the awardee students to use the CCTs for their better education and career development. Especially, being war-trodden areas in Pakistan, such plans may be continued with the help of international donor agencies given that these are positively and productively used by the students.
Some strategies and alternatives policies are also needed for the general development in the higher education system with regard to enrollment and admission, fairness and quality. The target of these CCT programs such as HEC need-based scholarship and Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop scheme is incoherent with the objectives of the CCT plan as the levels of poverty are not consistent across several areas in Pakistan. This study found that the Prime Minister grants to youth is very significant and assists in the proliferation of higher education in the less developed areas of Pakistan. The laptop scheme is also very fruitful and has a significant impact on students’ academic development.
Theoretical and Practical ImplicationsThis research adds to the theoretical aspects that such type of conditional cash transfers is really helpful for the local community and it has certain impacts on the growth and enhancement of higher education in Pakistan. This phenomenon is worth researching for academicians in the public sector education. Such schemes need to be debated by the research communities to further improve its mechanism, structure, and implementation so that they can yield more. Social investments may spark more studies to be pursued in other areas of social groups.
The schemes are very much appealing for practitioners and this study provides policy recommendations for the regulators, HEC Pakistan and other concerned to make the schemes more effective in terms of enrollment and target-achieving. The concerned universities and higher education institutions also need to effectively execute the plans so that the government targets can be sustainably achieved.
This study has a few limitations that can be covered in future studies. First, the study is limited in terms of its findings as it focused on the context of Pakistan. The results are, therefore, worth analyzing before applying to the practices in other settings. Secondly, we used a questionnaire-based primary data that were collected from a few districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This might limit the generalizability of the study to the whole country or other countries. Future studies can give more focus to a large set of data or may use the mixed methodology to reach at more conclusive results. Further, new variables may be added to make the theoretical model more comprehensive. There are some other programs from the government side which need researchers’ lens to study them in full ins and outs. For example, the “EHSAAS Undergraduate Scholarship Program” has currently been launched for the poor youth of Pakistan. The government of Pakistan is also giving subsidized loans to the youth of tribal areas which is also a sort of social investment and a worthwhile research endeavor for new studies.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Khan, B.U., Shah, S.N.A. and Gul, R. (2020) Conditional Cash Transfers: Expanding Higher Education through Social and Economic Support in Pakistan. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 8, 200-216. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2020.81014