Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said education alone would eliminate poverty and empower people.
“We are continuing the Vidya Deevena scheme in spite of financial constraints. The government has so far spent ₹6,259 crore towards the total fee reimbursement scheme benefiting 21.48 lakh students, besides clearing ₹1,778 crore dues kept pending by the previous government,” Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said while launching the third tranche of the scheme under which he credited ₹686 crore into the accounts of 9.87 lakh mothers of 11.03 lakh students.
Stating that the scheme was aimed at making education accessible to the poor, he said the amount was being directly credited into the accounts of the mothers as they could better supervise the college facilities and the students’ well-being, which would also improve accountability of the college managements.
“If there are any problems with the managements, or with the scheme, the beneficiaries are advised to dial the toll-free number – 1902,” he said.
“I also urge the beneficiaries to pay the credited amount to the colleges within seven to 10 days, failing which the government shall directly credit the amount to the accounts of the college managements,” the Chief Minister said.
He said the government had also taken steps to support meritorious students who secured admission in private universities by making a law under which 50% seats in the medical and dental streams and 35% seats in engineering and other courses would be filled under the convener quota.
“So far, 2,118 students studying in private universities are availing of total fee reimbursement through the Vidya Deevena scheme,” the Chief Minister said.
‘GER rises in State’
He further said that as per the all-India survey on higher education, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of students between 17 and 23 years in colleges had increased to 35.2% in Andhra Pradesh, registering a growth of 8.6% against the national growth of 3.04%.
“While the GER of SC, ST, and girl students has increased by 1.7%, 4.5%, and 2.27% respectively across the country, in Andhra Pradesh they have increased by 7.5%, 9.5%, and 11.03% respectively,” Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
Stating that the government was implementing Vasathi Deevena scheme too along with Vidya Deevena, he said ₹8,526 crore had so far been spent on these two schemes alone.
“The government is also setting up 16 medical colleges, a JNTU in Vizianagaram district, a university in Prakasam district, an architecture university in Kadapa, a tribal engineering college in Kurupam, and a tribal university in Salur,” the Chief Minister said.
“The degree colleges are being set up across the State and 154 degree colleges are being revamped with ₹880 crore under the Nadu-Nedu project. As part of the reforms in the education sector, bilingual textbooks have been introduced and internship has been made mandatory,” he said.
“These apart, the government is offering courses through 30 skill development colleges and one skill university by partnering with companies such as Microsoft,” he added.
Ministers A. Suresh and B. Satyanarayana, and Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma were among those present on the occasion.
