Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday launched yet another populist scheme – Jagananna Vasathi Deevena, aimed at extending direct cash transfer of financial assistance to students belonging to downtrodden sections towards their hostel and mess expenses.
Under the scheme, financial assistance will be provided for students pursuing diploma in technical education in industrial training institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, besides those studying degree and post-graduate courses by staying in hostels.
An amount of ₹10,000 would be paid for each ITI student, ₹15,000 for each polytechnic student and ₹20,000 each for degree and post-graduate students every year in two equal instalments in the months of February and July. As many as 11,87,904 students would be benefited by the scheme.
Launching the scheme at Vizianagaram, the chief minister said the Jagananna Vasathi Deevena was part of education reforms to help poor students who could not afford to pay their hostel and mess charges. “All the students whose parents’ annual income is less than ₹2.5 lakh will get financial assistance directly into the bank account of their mothers,” he said.
He said an amount of ₹2,300 crore had been earmarked for the scheme in the annual budget. This was apart from ₹3,700 crores being spent on total fee reimbursement scheme, ₹6,400 crore being spent on Amma Vodi scheme, in which ₹15,000 would be paid to mothers who send their children to schools.
{{/usCountry}}He said an amount of ₹2,300 crore had been earmarked for the scheme in the annual budget. This was apart from ₹3,700 crores being spent on total fee reimbursement scheme, ₹6,400 crore being spent on Amma Vodi scheme, in which ₹15,000 would be paid to mothers who send their children to schools.
{{/usCountry}}“We are proud to say that ₹12,400 crore is being spent for all these schemes. The government plans to transform the outlook of all schools in the state in three years through Nadu-Nedu and Mana-Badi programmes by providing infrastructure. Similarly, the menu of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme has been changed to provide nutritious food to the children,” he said.
Jagan said education was the only asset the government could offer to lakhs of students of downtrodden families and the fruits would be transferred to generations to come if at least one person from the family completes a professional course and gets a good job.
The chief minister said another revolutionary step taken by the government was to provide primary education in English medium from the next academic year for all students to face global competition once they complete their studies.
Jagan lashed out at opposition parties for spreading stories against the welfare schemes being taken up by his government. “We shall go ahead with the welfare programmes to justify the mandate given by the people in the elections, despite the detractors’ false propaganda,” he said.