Türkiye aims to strengthen equal opportunities in education and improve children’s access to education, while undertaking efforts to extend the educational opportunities provided to Turkish citizen children to all children living in Türkiye. In this context, the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE) Programme, which has been implemented for Turkish citizen children since 2003, was expanded in 2017 to also cover foreign children living in Türkiye under Temporary Protection, International Protection, or Humanitarian Residence Permit statuses.
The Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE) Project is a conditional cash assistance programme aimed at promoting access to formal education and regular school attendance among vulnerable foreign children living in Türkiye. The Project covers all levels of formal education, from preschool through the end of Grade 12.
Under the Project, payments are made on a bi-monthly basis and are conditional upon regular school attendance. To be eligible for payment for a given month, a child must not have more than four days of unexcused absence during that month. Payment amounts provided under the CCTE Project vary according to the education level and gender of the children within the household. In order to promote girls’ participation in education, female students are entitled to higher payment amounts than male students.
In addition, alongside the regular bi-monthly payments, incentive and supplementary payments are provided in January and September for each eligible child attending school within the beneficiary household. Incentive payments are applicable only to children attending lower secondary and upper secondary education.
The CCTE Project also includes a Protection component. When school absenteeism is identified, household visits are conducted and the necessary assessments are carried out to support the child’s continued participation in education.
The impact of the Project on beneficiaries is monitored through regular monitoring and evaluation activities conducted in the field.
Accountability and transparency towards both the donor and beneficiaries are core pillars of the CCTE Project.
The CCTE Project is funded by the European Union, and assistance is delivered through the KIZILAYKART Platform in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and Türk Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent).
