Secondary Education Stipend Programme (SESP)

The objectives of the Secondary Education Stipend Programme (SESP) to promote access to secondary education, preparing students for employment opportunities and decreasing dropout rates. Reviewing the success of several programmes at secondary level including Female Secondary School Assistance Program (FSSAP) and the Food for Education (FFE), the Secondary Education Sector Investment Program (SESIP) has started its operation in 2013 to support the government’s reforms of secondary education. In addition to the teacher development, examination reforms, improvements of teaching-learning outcomes, the SESIP program is implementing the gender-equitable and pro-poor stipends for students through Secondary Education Stipend Project (SESP). Under the SESP, 30% of the unmarried girls and 10% of the boys belonging to poor families would receive stipends. To qualify for the stipends, each of the students have to attend at least 75% classes and to secure a certain percentage of marks in examinations (students of Class 6 and 7 have to acquire minimum 33% marks and students of class 8 and 9 have to obtain 40% marks in the final examination).