Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that the Delhi Cabinet had accorded approval to the expansion of Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana to include all children who have passed Class X and XII from the national capital and whose annual family income is less than ₹8 lakh under the scheme.
According to Mr. Kejriwal, the scheme is aimed at ensuring that no student is deprived of “good education” due to lack of financial resources.
As per government statistics, as many as 4,961 students had availed of the scheme last year. Students will now be entitled to coaching fee ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹1 lakh and it will be borne by the Delhi government.
Announcing the decision, the Chief Minister stated, “Our government is giving maximum attention to education. It is our aim to ensure that no child born in Delhi should be bereft of good education in this age of stiff competition due to poverty or lack of resources. To achieve this goal, we have taken many steps.”
Till now, Mr. Kejriwal said, the scheme was only for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes category and the maximum financial assistance was ₹40,000. Now, the scheme had been expanded in scope and duration.
Extended to others
Students belonging to SC/ ST/ OBC/ EWS categories residing in Delhi and who cleared Class X and XII from schools in the national capital and whose total family income is not more than ₹8 lakh per year will now be eligible under the scheme, he said.
“It is the age of cut-throat competition and children require coaching for getting admission in good engineering and medical colleges. Children born in poor families are also very intelligent, but in the absence of resources for coaching, they are left behind and only those with sufficient economic resources have access to coaching,” Mr. Kejriwal said further.