In a bid to encourage more girls to pursue and complete higher education without financial constraints, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced a monthly deposit of Rs 1,000 in the bank accounts of girl students. Finance Minister P.T. Rajan told the assembly that around “six lakh” girls could benefit from the move.
An amount of Rs 697 crore has been allocated for this scheme, – he said while presenting the budget for 2022 to 2023.
As per the announcement, all girls from Class 6 to Class 12 in government schools will be paid Rs 1,000 till the uninterrupted completion of their undergraduate degree, diploma and ITI courses. The minister said that the students would be eligible for this scheme apart from other scholarships.
Scheme is being transformed:
He said that in view of the low enrollment ratio of girls in government schools in higher education, Movalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar “Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme” is being transformed into “Higher Education Assurance Scheme”.
The implementation of the existing schemes of EVR [Maniammaiyar Smriti Widow Daughter Marriage Assistance Scheme], Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Smriti Inter-caste Marriage Assistance Scheme, Annai Teresa Orphan Girl Marriage Assistance Scheme and Ammaiyar Smriti Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme (Dr. Dharmambal) will continue without any change – said the minister.
The country has seen an increase in the enrolment of girls at all levels of school education between 2018 and 2020 under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, informed the education ministry.
The ministry, through an official release on Wednesday, outlined major achievements in the education sector. The Gross Enrolment Ratio, which measures general levels of participation, improved between 2018-20 across all levels of schooling.
In the secondary section, the GER increased from 76.94 in 2018-19 to 77.84 in 2019-20, while in higher secondary, the number increased from 50.83 in 2018-19 to 52.30 in 2019-20, the education ministry said in an official statement. “Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of schooling is one of the major objectives of Samagra Shiksha,” the ministry said.
UDISE offers various types of enrollments in blocks and districts across the country under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. There is a provision of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas under Samagra Shiksha to reduce the gender gap at all levels of school education. KGBVs are residential schools for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups like (SC, ST, OBC,) minorities and Below Poverty Line (BPL) class VI to Class XII.
Girls Enrolment:
Till February 22, a total of 5,625 KGBVs have been sanctioned under Samagra Shiksha, in which 6,65,131 girls have been enrolled.
The education ministry said that 761 KGBVs are operational in Uttar Pradesh with an enrollment of 78,821 girls.
