The Karnataka government is all set to provide free education for all girls from Class 1 to graduation in public and aided private schools and colleges from the next academic year.
“We expect around 18 lakh students whose parents’ income would be less than Rs. 10 lakh to opt for this scheme, and are planning to earmark Rs.110 crore,” Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi said. He hopes that only the poor will avail the scheme.
Even Telangana has a similar scheme, where girls are provided free education from kindergarten to postgraduation (KG to PG), while Punjab extended the scheme up to the PhD level and fulfilled its key poll promise.
This decision comes ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, which are just months away.
Rayareddi said about the scheme,”It is a model one and a major leap towards women’s empowerment. The scheme is for all girls”.
The students must pay the fees at the time of admission which will be reimbursed later by the government. Examination fees, however, will not be reimbursed.
The Higher Education Minister also said that fees would be waived even if the students opt for popular women’s colleges like Mount Carmel in Bengaluru.
The scheme is ostensibly aimed at discouraging girls from dropping out of school, especially in rural areas. Many girls don’t continue their studies after Class X. This initiative will impart free education to girls from underprivileged communities.
“It is mainly in rural areas where girls come from families earning less than Rs.10 lakh that the government needs to extend incentives. But the government will not discriminate between cities and rural areas and poor and rich. It is ready to reimburse fees to all girl students,” Rayareddi added.
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