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Haryana bonanza for SC students

Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

NEW DEAL: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announcing a new package for Scheduled Caste students in Chandigarh on Tuesday. State Education Minister Mange Ram Gupta looks on.

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday announced a Rs.500-crore bonanza of incentives for students belonging to Scheduled Castes and those whose families are living below the poverty line to enable them to pursue education up to college level.

Addressing media persons after launching the scheme of giving monthly stipend and one-time allowance to all Scheduled Caste students studying in government schools in the State, Mr Hooda announced that all Scheduled Caste students studying of colleges would get Rs.2,000 per year to buy books in addition to a monthly stipend of Rs.1,000.

He also announced that for the first time not only students belonging to Scheduled Castes but also of other communities studying in government schools from Class I to VIII would be given textbooks free of cost.

Mr. Hooda also announced a new scheme for boys belonging to Below Poverty Line families.

Under this scheme, a monthly incentive of Rs.75 will be given to boys studying from Class I to V; Rs.100 for those studying in Class VI to VIII; and Rs. 150 for those in classes IX to XI.

In the case of science students of plus one and two, the incentive would be Rs.200 per month. All BPL students who are studying in colleges would get Rs.750 per month.

While launching the incentive-based scheme for Scheduled Caste students, he said the monthly stipend would be Rs.100 for boys and Rs.150 for girls studying in Class I to V; Rs.150 and Rs.200 for boys and girls respectively in Class VI to VIII and Rs. 200 and Rs. 300 for students of Class IX to XII. In the case of science students studying in Classes XI and XII, the amount would be Rs.300 for boys and Rs.400 for girls.

He also released the first quarterly instalment of the monthly allowance and full payment of one-time allowance to be disbursed among the eligible students, amounting to about Rs.128 crore. He also issued authorisation letters to 17 banks through whom the stipend would be disbursed to the students.

Mr. Hooda said the scheme was being implemented as part of the activities being undertaken this year which he had declared as the “Year of Education” on January 5 this year.

He claimed that when his regime assumed office in March 2005, the total amount spent on welfare of Scheduled Castes students was merely Rs.25 crore which had been enhanced to Rs.280 crore during a short period of three and a half years.

He also released a set of work books to be given free of cost to all students studying in Government schools from Class I to VIII. These work books have been prepared with the help of reputed NGOs and educational experts.

Comprehensive reforms were being brought about at all levels of education including primary, secondary, colleges and universities. During this year, computer education would be launched in 25 big colleges and 200 senior secondary schools and more colleges and schools would be covered in the subsequent years.

Comprehensive school upgrading programme had also been launched. About 15,000 additional seats in job-oriented courses like commerce, science and computers had been created in the universities and colleges of the State, he added.

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