While most Government officials would be content with just delivering an address during school functions and lecturing the young students to behave, Kannagi Packianathan, Secretary of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, decided such a meeting is an opportunity to ascertain the efficacy of the implementation of various welfare schemes to promote education.
The Secretary, who was in the city on Friday to distribute aid under social welfare schemes of World Vision, a development organisation, began to ask the students whether they were receiving the State Government’s grant money properly.
She informed the gathering that upon completing the academic year, girl students of standard III were given Rs. 500, which was credited to a post office account opened in the name of her mother. This sum was Rs. 500 for girl students of Standard IV and Rs. 1,000 for Standard VI.
The State Government had allotted Rs. 40 crore for schemes to encourage girls to take up education and this was sum besides the scholarships.
Whenever some students raised some issues, Ms. Packianathan immediately directed District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer S.M. Suresh to look into it.
She distributed aid worth Rs. 76 lakh under various World Vision schemes benefiting 282 economically weak families residing in urban slums and to 3,331 school students.
The function was held at Corporation Higher Secondary School at Kembatty Colony. School bags and water flasks were also given to the students.
K. Karpagam, District Revenue Officer; and K. Vetriselvan John, Programme Manager (Coimbatore), World Vision, spoke.
