Coimbatore: The district tops the state in implementing Tamil Pudhalvan scheme. Launched in August this year, the scheme has benefited 22,311 male students who studied in govt and aided schools in Classes VI to XII in the district so far. The scheme provides a monthly financial assistance of Rs1,000 directly to the beneficiaries' bank accounts.
Explaining the district's success in implementing the scheme, district social welfare officer R Ambika said, "The higher number of beneficiaries in Coimbatore could be attributed to the large number of higher educational institutions in the district. Additionally, many students from other districts come here to study. We conducted nearly 400 special camps to enrol eligible students to the scheme and opened around 8,000 bank accounts for the students from rural areas and other districts studying in Coimbatore. We also did continuous follow-ups to ensure that the scheme reaches all eligible students."
She said the monthly assistance of Rs1,000 was now being disbursed to 22,311 male students pursuing higher education in 350 institutions.
In terms of state rankings, Coimbatore leads in the number of beneficiaries, followed by Namakkal, Salem, Tiruvannamalai, and Chennai. The assistance would be provided until students complete their graduation, diploma or ITI courses. The scheme has no restrictions on the number of beneficiaries from a single family, allowing all eligible students in a household to receive the aid individually.
The scheme aims at ensuring uninterrupted higher education for students from the economically weaker sections. M Sureshkumar, a govt ITI student in Coimbatore, said, "I am from Tenkasi and staying in a govt hostel. My parents are agricultural labourers, who struggle a lot to send me money for monthly expenses. This monthly financial aid helps me manage my expenses independently. It is a huge support."
B Yuvaraj, a second-year BSc student of a private college at Sulur, also said the scheme was very helpful, especially for paying exam fees.