Collector S. Natarajan has attributed the success in school education and the district securing the second State rank in overall pass percentage in class XII in the academic year 2016-17 to the 14 different welfare schemes implemented by the government for the benefit of students.
The special cash incentive to avoid dropouts, free distribution of textbooks, school bags, uniform, footwear, free bus passes, bicycles and laptops had helped scores of poor students to come out good in their studies and the education department to ensure there were no dropouts, he said in a statement here on Tuesday.
In the last six years, since the free laptop distribution scheme was launched in 2011-12, a total of 62,338 students in the district were given laptops worth ₹91.24 crore, he said, adding every year more than 10,000 students were benefited by the scheme.
The various student welfare schemes for primary and secondary students such as distribution of free textbooks, notebooks, bus passes, uniforms, footwear and supply of noonmeal encouraged lots of students in rural areas to attend schools, he said.
This backward district, which witnessed slide last year (2015-16) in the plus two examinations, slipping from eighth to ninth position at the State-level, sprang a surprise in the year 2016-17, securing the second top position recording an overall pass percentage of 96.77.
In all, 15,836 students, including 8,497 girls from 133 Government, aided and private schools had appeared for the examinations and 15,325 of them passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 96.77, improving the last year’s performance by 1.73%, the Collector said.
