Amaravati, March 16 The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday disbursed Rs 708 crore to 10.82 lakh students as fee reimbursement under its flagship scheme Jagananna Vidya Deevena.
The amount was credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries towards fee reimbursement for October - December 2021 quarter.
Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who transferred the money, reiterated that poverty should not be a hindrance for pursuing higher education
The government had also decided to disburse regular payments on a quarterly basis.
Education is the only solution to eradicate poverty. If a child in a village is educated, the entire village can benefit from it. Further, the government is ensuring to reduce college dropouts across the state. Debt settlement can make a huge difference to lead to successful completion of course/education," he said.
Under the government's flagship Jagananna Vidya Deevena, the total fee reimbursement would be directly transferred to the accounts of mothers of the students.
Jagan Mohan Reddy recalled an incident during his padaytra wherein a father narrated how his son committed suicide as the fees could not be paid.
The Chief Minister said that full fee reimbursement was brought in to make education accessible to the poor, especially fulfilling the dream of pursuing higher education without burdening their families.
The government has so far provided assistance of Rs 9,274 crore under Jagananna Vidya Deevena and Jaganna Vasathi Deevena (Lodging and boarding charges). This includes the fee reimbursement arrears of Rs 1,778 crore kept by the previous government, Rs 6969 crore for Jagananna Vidya Deevena, and Rs 2305 crore for Jaganna Vasathi Deevena.
The Chief Minister also noted that there is a significant increase in gross enrollment in schools with the implementation of Amma Vodi. Under this scheme, the government is providing Rs 15,000 assistance to all the mothers who send their children to school.
"We are also making significant changes to the higher education syllabus and taking steps towards job creation," the Chief Minister added.
The government has not only been providing assistance to the students on fee reimbursement but to their lodging and boarding charges too under Jagananna Vasathi Deevena. The scheme would give assistance of Rs 20,000 to all eligible students pursuing degrees, engineering, and medicine while Rs 15000 for polytechnic students and Rs 10,000 for ITI students in two installments every year.
He said that the second tranche of Vasati Deevena will be credited on April 5 at a public event.
As part of the reforms in the education sector, bilingual textbooks have been introduced, English medium schools with CBSE curriculum are made available, and students are given Vidya Kanuka kits with uniforms, workbooks, notebooks, along with nutritious midday meals under Jagananna Gorumuddha.
He said that the admissions in government schools were increased by 6.5 lakh as students from private schools were shifting to government schools.
Ministers Adimulapu Suresh, Pinepe Viswaroop, Chief Secretary Dr Sameer Sharma, APSCHE Chairman K. Hemachandrareddy, Minority Welfare Special Secretary Gandham Chandradu, and other senior officials were present.
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