SMART POLICY- As many as 1 mn additional students are lined up for state support to fund their education under a new directive by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Social Solidarity Minister Nevine El Kabbaj said. The support will be given to students from families that were either found ineligible for or taken off the Takaful cash transfer program, which already helps 2.4 mn students. They will be added to other families supported directly by the state, bringing the number of students receiving social aid directly and through Takaful to a combined total of 4.4. The directive also covers students with disabilities or those enrolled in community and vocational schools or literacy classes, and those who were covered by Takaful and made it to university, El Kabbaj said.

Background: The government has removed at least 8 mn people from its subsidy rolls in recent years under reforms to the subsidy program that have recently entered their fourth phase. It then said it’s restoring as many as 1.8 mn after a tweet by El Sisi on measures to shore up social safety nets and help “protect the rights” of low-income citizens affected by subsidy cuts.