Another boost to rural girl students in MP

Muslim Saleem
Bhopal, January 22, 2012

Madhya Pradesh government is pioneer in girls education also apart from being a great champion of women’s cause in the country. The government that has launched Ladli Laxmi Yojna to benefit girls’ right from their births upto marriage, has also started various schemes for increasing their educational standard. Gaon Ki Beti Yojna is one among them. So far, benefit of this scheme was extended to rural girl students pursuing higher studies in government colleges.  Now the benefit of Gaon Ki Beti Yojna will also be extended to girl students of private colleges. This is a major boost to rural girl students in the state, reports SMS News & Features.So far, this benefit is being given to the 32 thousand 225 rural girl students passing class XII exams in first division in 400 government colleges and the colleges getting grant.

A sum of Rs. 23 crore 50 lakh is being spent on the scheme. Now, this benefit will be extended to 50 thousand more girl students studying in 686 non-government colleges. A sum of about Rs. 40 crore will be spent on it. Under the scheme, each girl student is given Rs. 5000 per annum.

The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to motivate talented rural girls for higher education. Under the scheme Rs 500 per month scholarship is given for 10 months to the rural girls, who pass their 12th exam in first division.

There are talented girls in every village. Though they want to study further after passing Class XII exams, they are unable to do so since colleges are situated in towns and cities and their families’ are not well-off to bear the expenses of their education. Even well-to-do families avoid this expenditure.

As a result of to this scheme, now a large number of rural girls are pursuing collegiate education. Similarly, with a view to motivating girls to continue education after primary level, a scheme has been launched by the State Government for provide free cycles to girl students.

Under the scheme, free bicycle is given by the state government to a rural girl, who takes admission in class IX in another village. The scheme’s benefit is given to village girls belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward class as well as general category. Since 2009, the benefit of this scheme is being extended to girls belonging to all the sections of society.

The scheme was later expanded further and now free bicycles are also being given to the girls in whose village there is no middle school and they have to take admission in class VI in the middle school of other village.

So far, 16.50 lakh bicycles have been distributed. Before the implementation of this scheme, there were lakhs of girls, who had to abandon studies after completing primary education only because there was no middle, high or higher secondary school in their village and they did not have means to travel to other villages to pursue education. Going on foot was difficult as well as risky. The scheme has removed all these hurdles.