Education of Disadvantaged Children in OIC:
The Key to Escape from Poverty
20
likelihood of being covered drops in low-income countries. 49 percent of the primary school age
children in the world are covered by a school feeding programme as opposed to 18 percent
coverage in low-income countries.82
Box 1 “A conditional cash transfer program targeting better nutrition and education
outcomes for children in Colombia
“The Familias en Acción” started rolling out in urban and rural Colombia in 2001 with the
financial support provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the World
Bank. The target group for this intervention was families with primary and secondary school
age children aged 7 to 17. The programme has two main components: education and
nutrition. The programme aims to:
i. provide financial support to families with young children
ii. increase attendance rates and lower the drop-out rates in primary and secondary
schools
iii. increase health care provision for young children
iv. improve health care and nutrition practices for young children
The financial supplement for the education component doubles for secondary school children.
There is no limitation on the number of children supported per house. In the case of having
children younger than age 7, a flat-rate monetary support is also transferred to beneficiary
families. The programme transfers the money to the mothers. The conditionality was
dependant on children visiting a health centre and continuing in school.
For the education component, which aims to reach the poorest households with children aged
7-17, in order to receive a US $5 for primary school children and a US $10 for secondary school
children per month the condition was to attend no less than 80 percent of classes throughout
the school year for both primary and secondary school children. For the nutrition component,
which aims to support beneficiary families with young children (ages 0-6) a monthly US $17
was transferred when children visited health authorities for growth and development
monitoring.
The impact and benefits gained
By 2005, the Programme was successful in reaching 400,000 households in 700
municipalities, which was in excess of the main target of 340,000 households. Positive
impacts on growth progress of young children especially in the rural areas and an increase in
school attendance particularly for children aged 12-17 were found. The success of the
implementation of the Programme lies in the detailed design and planning of the programme
as well as the determined collaborative action between different levels of government bodies,
financiers, municipalities and other institutions.
(Ayala, 2005)
82 (WFP, 2013)