BENGALURU: It seems like Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s ambitious `2 incentive scheme to attract girls to schools is headed for a quiet burial. According to sources from the Department of Public Instructions, the scheme has been stalled for the academic year 2017-18 as the government has not released funds for it.
The scheme was launched in the 2014-15 academic year under which an incentive of `2 was to be provided to each girl student for their daily attendance. According to data from the department, over two lakh girl students are waiting to get their attendance. Officials even claimed that the scheme was a hit, and admission and attendance of girl students had increased in the last two years.
“We have not received the funds even for the previous academic year (2016-17). As no funds were released, we have been forced to stall the scheme for the present academic year,” a senior official from the primary education department said.
One reason for the government not releasing the funds is misuse by some headmasters of government schools. There are reports that some headmasters transferred the incentive fund to their personal bank accounts. “We have submitted a report to the Lokayukta. The report is about misuse of funds during 2013 and 2014,” an official said.