CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday launched the ‘Pudhumai Penn’ (modern woman) scheme under which all girl students, who studied from Classes 6 to 12 in government schools, will get Rs 1,000 per month to pursue higher education.
Joining Stalin at the event held at Bharathi Women’s College in Chennai, his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal launched 26 Schools of Excellence and 15 Model Schools. While Kejriwal lauded Stalin for emulating the Delhi school model within six months and for his other initiatives in education sector, Stalin praised the Delhi CM as a ‘fighter’. “Kejriwal quit the Indian Revenue Service and entered public life to serve people. With his hard work, he has become the CM of Delhi. Recently, he has made his party win in Punjab too. He is closely watched by everyone in the country,” the DMK leader said.
Stalin said under the Pudhumai Penn scheme, money will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of students to ensure that they do not face any difficulty in pursuing education. “The scheme will reduce child marriages and will make women independent. They need not tolerate anything that affects their self-respect. The scheme will empower women and boost the State’s education scenario and number of qualified people,” the CM said.
The scheme aims to benefit six lakh girls every year and Rs 698 crore has been allocated in the budget for its implementation. Stalin said after his government came to power, keeping in mind changing needs, Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Marriage Assistance scheme was converted into Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance scheme, now implemented as Pudhumai Penn scheme, for the benefit of economically-weaker families who are not able to send their girl children to colleges due to financial constraints. Stalin also said Rs 25 crore will be allocated to Bharathi Women’s College for constructing new classrooms and developing infrastructure facilities.
‘Country needs more quality government schools’
Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said it is the duty of every government to provide free, good quality education, and stressed the need to improve the condition of government schools in the country. “Almost 66% of children go to government schools in the country.
Everyone wants the country to become developed, but I wonder how it is possible if our children get rotten education in government schools,” said Kejriwal. Lauding the efforts taken by the TN government in the education sector, Kejriwal said keeping party politics aside States should share their best practices and implement them.
He exhorted State governments and Centre to come together and improve the quality of education in government schools. “If State and Central governments came together, within five years, all government schools in the country could provide the best education,” Kejriwal said.
“Unless and until education on a par with private institutions is available in government schools, the dream of becoming a developed country would remain a dream,” Kejriwal said. Apart from States like Delhi and TN, government schools are in a precarious condition in most parts of the country.
Many State governments are shutting down schools and increasing fees. But if this goes on, where will the poor go to educate their kids, asked the Delhi CM. Kejriwal also visited the Anna Centenary library. “It’s a pleasure to visit this library. Such huge collection of books and manuscripts so well managed and kept. It’s not just Tamil Nadu’s pride but India’s pride. Keep it up,” wrote Kejriwal in the guest book.