VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday released Rs 709 crore to 10.82 lakh students under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme for the October-December 2021 quarter. The amount was credited to the bank accounts of the mothers’ of the beneficiary students.
Virtually addressing the beneficiaries, the Chief Minister termed education as the only invaluable asset that could not be robbed. It would change the life and living standards of people, and hence his government was according top priority to education, Jagan said.He announced that the second tranche of Vasathi Deevena (Rs 10,000 to each beneficiary) would be credited on April 5.
“Poverty alleviation is possible only with education and a family will be able to overcome poverty when the children are well-educated to earn good salaries and settle in life. These two programmes—Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena—are the ones that gave me more satisfaction,” he said.
Elaborating, he said societies with 100 per cent literacy have low infant and maternal mortality rate, reflecting their high living standards. “There is a vast difference between a literate society and an illiterate one. A child gets educated and his village will also progress. There are several well-known doctors who have contributed to the development of their villages,” he said.
The Chief Minister said poverty should not become an obstacle for education and he never wanted to see a child dropping out due to financial constraints. Jagan said former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy held education as the game changer that would alleviate poverty and started full fee reimbursement, but those who succeeded him were not keen on the scheme.
Accusing the previous regime of not providing total fee reimbursement to vulnerable communities, he said his government had cleared a backlog of Rs 1,778 crore. A total of Rs 9,274 crore was spent through Vidya Deevena and Vasati Deevena schemes, since his government assumed charge.
The Chief Minister said schemes such as Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena brought in revolutionary changes. “It will empower mothers, besides making colleges more accountable,” he said. As part of the reforms in the education sector, bilingual textbooks have been introduced, English medium schools with CBSE curriculum were made available, and students have been given Vidya Kanuka kits, along with nutritious midday meals.
He said that the admission to government schools increased by 6.5 lakh as students from private schools shifted to government-run institutions.Ministers Audimulapu Suresh, Pinepe Viswaroop, Chief Secretary Dr Sameer Sharma, APSCHE chairman K Hemachandra Reddy, Minority Welfare Special Secretary Gandham Chandrudu, and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
