Assam Govt to provide monthly stipend to 10 lakh girls pursuing higher education; aims to prevent child marriages

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 12, 2024

In a bid to prevent child marriages, Assam Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for a monthly stipend to be provided to 10 lakh girl students from class 11 to post-graduation (PG) over the next five years, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting, Sarma said the cabinet approved the scheme, ‘Mukhya Mantri Nijut Moina’, which estimated that Rs 1,500 crore would be required to give incentives to around 10 lakh girls for the next 5 years.

“Girl students enrolled in higher secondary, degree first year, and PG first year of government and venture schools, colleges and universities irrespective of their economic status are eligible for this scheme,” Sarma said.

“Rs 1,000 per month will be provided to girl students enrolled in class XI over 10 months, totalling Rs 10,000. Rs 1,250 per month will be provided to the students enrolled in graduation 1st year (BA/BSc/BCom) over 10 months, totalling Rs 12,500,” Sarma said.

“Rs 2,500 per month will be provided to the students enrolled in PG 1st year (BEd/MA/MSc/MCom) for 10 months, totalling Rs 25,000 (by merging mobility grant under Pragyan Bharati scheme with Nijut Moina scheme),” Sarma also said.

“However, for the current academic session, benefits can be availed for 9 months. From the second year onwards, no application needs to be submitted. A certificate from the head of the institution, certifying her continuity in the institution, will be sufficient for availing benefits,” the chief minister said.

The chief minister said the preparation of the scheme through form distribution will begin in July for colleges and in September for universities.

He said the beneficiaries must maintain discipline and adhere to all rules and regulations set forth by the institute, such as maintaining regular attendance and following relevant instructions from teachers and staff.

“However, daughters of MPs/MLAs and ministers, married girl students (except PG and BEd students), and girl students who receive scooters under the Pragyan Bharati Scheme (if any student opts out of the Pragyan Bharati scheme, then she will be eligible for Nijut Moina) and girl students enrolled in private institutions (except venture institutions) are not be eligible to receive benefits of this scheme,” he clarified.

“Over 2 lakh female students are estimated to benefit from this scheme, which aims to increase the overall Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) beyond matriculation and help eliminate the social evil of child marriage,” he said.

The scheme benefits will be disbursed to all beneficiaries from October 11 via DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer), the chief minister said.

In addition to this, from this academic year, both boys and girls who score more than 75% marks will receive Rs 10,000 as a one-time financial grant under the Anundoram Borooah Scheme, Sarma said.

From next academic year, scooters will be distributed to both boy and girl students who secure more than 75% marks, Sarma further said.

The chief minister also said to facilitate the collection of real-time hydrological data for effective water resource planning and flood forecasting in critical river basins of the state, the cabinet has accorded approval to the guidelines for installation and maintenance of Real-Time Data Acquisition Systems (RTDAS), 2024.

The approved guidelines will allow faster approvals at the district level for the installation of such advanced systems on the campuses of government establishments. These systems also provide crucial hydrological data for infrastructure planning and allow intelligent agriculture and irrigation practices in the long run,  he said.

A 10-year tentative roadmap for the installation of nearly 800 RTDAS units for data collection across the State of Assam has been approved, Sarma said.

“To improve the connectivity in tea gardens, the state government has decided to construct line roads in 800 tea gardens. Each Line Road will be constructed for Rs 1 crore, with a total cost of Rs 800 crore has been approved.

Sarma said to enhance the quality of infrastructure in state-run educational institutions, the state government will upgrade 126 schools, with an allocation of Rs 8 crore to each school.