VIJAYAWADA: The stage is set for the disbursement of financial aid to students staying in hostels under the Jagananna Vasathi Deevena. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will credit Rs 912.71 crore into the bank accounts of mothers of 9,55,662 student beneficiaries under the scheme with a click of a button at Narpala in Anantapur district on Wednesday.
Including the latest assistance of Rs 912,71 crore, the State government has so far credited Rs 4,275.76 crore into the bank accounts of mothers of 25,17,245 student beneficiaries under Jagananna Vasathi Deevena. It should be noted here that during the previous regime, the fee reimbursement was meagre and that too limited to very few students.
Including the Rs 1,778 crore kept pending by the previous regime, the YSRC government has provided total assistance of Rs 14,223.60 crore under Jagananna Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena. With an avowed aim of providing higher education to poor students, the YSRC government is reimbursing tuition fees on a quarterly basis regularly into the bank accounts of mothers of students pursuing ITI, Polytechnic, degree, engineering, medicine and other courses without any limit on the number of eligible children in a family.
It is paying Rs 10,000 to ITI, Rs 15,000 to polytechnic and Rs 20,000 to students of degree, engineering and medicine in two instalments every year under the scheme. As part of other educational reforms, online verticals have been introduced, through which students can pursue necessary skills in online mode. By introducing a 10-month mandatory internship, the government is equipping students with industry-ready. It has signed MoU with Microsoft to provide training to 1.62 lakh students in 40 skill development courses, where 1.07 lakh students have already completed their training.
The number of students who passed Intermediate, but could not get enrolled for higher studies in 2018-19, was 81,813 and thanks to the reforms in education introduced by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government, the number has come down to 22.387 in 2022-23. The dropout percentage in entry to higher education has declined significantly to 6.62% in 2022-23 against the national average of 27%.
The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for 2018-19 was recorded as 32.4. Steps are being taken to increase the GER to 70%. The average number of girls enrolling in colleges per 100 boys has increased from 81 in 2018-19 to 94 in 2020-21 (Gender Parity Index). The campus placements have also made a quantum jump from 37,000 in 2018-19 to 85,000 in 2021-22.
The government has also distributed tabs with Byju’s content to 8th-class students and teachers and now is providing 30,213 Interactive Flat Panels in all the classrooms of 6th class and above in government schools revamped under Nadu-Nedu. Smart TVs have been provided in 10,038 foundation and foundation plus schools. In the last 46 months, a whopping Rs 58,555.07 crore has been spent on welfare schemes in the education sector alone.