Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Fall in student strength

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is a fall of 48,191 students in government and 47,250 students in aided schools in the current academic year, Education Minister M.A. Baby has said.

Replying to questions in the Assembly on Friday, Mr. Baby said that the fall in the number of students compared to the previous year, was mainly owing to the progressive decline in population growth and birth rate. The proximity of unaided schools to government and aided schools and the affinity of parents to such institutions had also contributed to the decline in the number of students. Steps were taken to improve the performance as well as infrastructure facilities of the schools, he said.

The printing of textbooks for the next academic year will be completed by May 15. The government is planning to revamp and change the name of Agri@School programme. The programme being coordinated by the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council, Kerala, will be effectively implemented in all schools. The Higher Education Council is considering a proposal to form Higher Education Scholarship Fund of Rs.100 crore for indigent students.

Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran said that the system of giving interest-free loans to paddy cultivators has been implemented in Palakkad and Rs.5 crore has already been disbursed. The government would consider the proposal to extended it to Alappuzha and Thrissur. An exclusive mechanism to implement Centrally-sponsored schemes in the Agriculture Department is on the anvil.

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