Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday released the second tranche of the ‘Jagananna Vidya Deevena’ of ₹693.81 crore.
The amount was directly credited to the bank accounts of the mothers of 10.97 lakh students pursuing their higher studies.
“We believe that education alone can empower the people. We have spent ₹5,573 crore on fee reimbursement through the Vidya Deevena scheme since 2019, besides clearing ₹1,880 crore dues kept pending by the previous government during 2018-19,” the Chief Minister said on the occasion.
Real wealth
The scheme had been designed to make education accessible to the poor and create an opportunity for those who wanted to pursue higher education without burdening their families, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said, and added that the “real wealth that can be given to the future generations is education, which alone can eradicate poverty and bring about a change in the lives of the people.”
“As per the 2011 census, there is 33% illiteracy in Andhra Pradesh against 27% in the country,” said.
Drawing a comparison with the BRICS nations on the enrolment of students for higher studies, he said it was 51.8% in Brazil, 83.4% in Russia, and 83.4% in China. “But in India, only 27% of the students are pursuing higher education and 73% are not joining college,” he added.
“It is hard to eliminate poverty if children don’t pursue higher studies,” he observed.
He said the schemes such as Amma Vodi, Gorumudda, Vidya Kanuka, and Vasati Deevena would ensure that no family ran into debts for the sake of providing education to the children. The government had spent ₹26,677 crore on education alone, he added.
“Previously, money used to be paid directly to the colleges. But from this year, it’s being credited to the mothers’ accounts as they can have better supervision on the college facilities and students’ well-being, which in turn will improve the colleges’ accountability,” Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
Helpline
‘Should there be any problem with the college management, or with Vidya Deevena, the beneficiaries are advised to call toll-free number 1902,” he added.
The third and fourth tranche would be released in December this year and in February next.
Ministers A. Suresh, P. Viswaroop, Ch. Venugopala Krishna, and K. Venkateswara Rao, Principal Secretary (Higher Education) K. Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary (BC Welfare) G. Anantha Ramu, and APSCHE Chairman K. Hemachandra were present.
