VIJAYAWADA: The State government released orders on Monday for the implementation of Jagananna Amma Vodi scheme with an objective to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in primary and secondary level of education and encourage poor families to make their children pursue education irrespective of their financial status. A set of guidelines has been prescribed for effective implementation of Amma Vodi scheme.
The YSRC government has come up with Jagananna Amma Vodi scheme as part of its ‘Navaratnalu’ programme which is included in the party’s election manifesto.
Under the scheme, the mother of a child, who is studying in any recognised school in the State, will be paid Rs 15,000 per year until he/she reaches Class XII or Intermediate.
The financial assistance will be paid to the mother or guardian who is below the poverty line, irrespective of the number of children of that family studying from class I to XII in government, recognised private aided and private unaided schools, junior colleges and residential schools.
As per the guidelines, a student requires a minimum attendance of 75 per cent to get the financial assistance under the scheme. The annual income of the beneficiary family should not exceed Rs 1 lakh. The beneficiary mothers should also possess Aadhaar and white ration cards.
If the beneficiary students discontinue their studies in the middle of the academic year, they will not be paid the benefit for that academic year.
The scheme will be extended to orphans and street children, who are admitted in school through voluntary organisations, after consultation with the department concerned. The financial aid will be credited into the bank account of the mother or guardian in January every year.
The beneficiary should have savings bank account in any nationalised bank or post office for the purpose.
As per the government order, a separate website for the scheme will be launched to monitor the implementation of the scheme, which will be linked to the Commissioner of School Education web portal. Based on the inputs from the educational institutions, the data will be uploaded to the website. The financial assistance will be released to the beneficiary only after due validation and cross validation with
Childinfo and UDISE data and data of Civil Supplies and other departments.
Firstly, the application needs to be certified by the inspecting officer of the educational institution. Later, it will be forwarded to the District Education Officer/District Vocational Education Officer/Regional Inspection Officer concerned of Board of Intermediate Education. The aid will be transferred into the bank accounts of beneficiaries through online. Village volunteers will also be involved in implementation of the scheme to ensure that all the eligible are covered under Amma Vodi.
The list of beneficiaries shall be displayed in the village or ward secretariat for social audit. The departments of Information Technology and Communications and RTG and Civil Supplies are directed to provide all technical assistance for the development of software required for effective implementation of Amma Vodi. Any misuse of the scheme will be viewed seriously to achieve desired results.