Good nutrition is known to help deal better with long hours of studies. And in the run-up to the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams, the district administration is making all arrangements to ensure that students burning the midnight oil don’t experience hunger pangs.
The Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar (MCK) has allocated ₹4.5 lakh from its general funds for disbursement of mini-snacks to over 900 government school students as part of their evening study hours.
Three years ago, Mayor S. Ravinder Singh launched ‘Saraswathi Prasadam’ to serve snacks to the SSC exam candidates by spending money out of his pocket.
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He also motivated local philanthropists to contribute towards snacks provision for economically-disadvantaged students in government schools.
Annual feature
Now, the Mayor has made the SSC snacks an annual feature and is ensuring that the MCK sets aside funds every year for the purpose.
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Accordingly. this year, it has released ₹4.5 lakhfor the distribution of snacks like idli, pulihora, etc.
There are 42 government schools, including 17 high schools, in the town. This year, around 900-odd students would appear for the SSC exams. That roughly translated to ₹10 per student for a month.
“If there is hunger, the students cannot concentrate on their studies. Hence, I started the scheme on my own three years ago and have now made it mandatory for the MCK to allocate funds for its regular implementation,” said the Mayor.
E-learning facilities
Meanwhile, Mr. Singh revealed plans of allocating ₹18 crore under the Smart City project for government schools in the town to extend e-learning facilities (computer education). He also said that they had allocated ₹2 crore to the government high school in Gunj area to protect rich heritage structures.