Patna, Dec. 28: The Bihar cabinet today approved a corpus of Rs 198 crore to extend the school uniform scheme to Plus Two girl students.
“From now, every girl student will get Rs 1,000 per year to purchase uniform. The scheme will benefit about 15 lakh students across the state,” cabinet co-ordination department principal secretary Ravikant said in a post-cabinet briefing.
The Mukhyamantri Balika Poshak Yojana, which has been renamed Bihar Shatabdi Mukhyamantri Balika Poshak Yojana, is likely to benefit 8.77 lakh students of classes IX and X and 6.24 lakh pupils of classes XI and XII. Students of all constituent and affiliated inter colleges, government schools, project schools, recognised non-government minorities schools, aided madrasas and Sanskrit schools will be entitled for the benefits of the scheme.
Boys and girls of classes I to VIII were getting Rs 700 to purchase two sets of uniform, a pair of shoes and stationary every year. The scheme was implemented in 2006-07 after NDA came to power in November 2005. Earlier, students of classes I-III were getting uniform as part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
“The cabinet had three months ago decided to give uniform to girl students of classes XI to XII. The plan could not be implemented because of non-allocation of funds. The cabinet today approved Rs 198 crore for its implementation,” education minister P.K. Shahi told The Telegraph.
At its meeting on December 20, the cabinet decided to provide uniform to children in the age group of three-to-six who go to anganwadi kendras for pre-school education. The decision would benefit about 37 lakh children going to nearly 92,000 anganwadi kendras, the principal secretary said. Every child would get Rs 250 per year to purchase uniform.
The NDA government had launched Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana and Mukhyamantri Balika Poshak Yojana to bring students to school.
Besides approving Rs 198 crore for the uniform scheme, the cabinet sanctioned Rs 1,100 crore for the Bihar State Electricity Board to make payments to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and purchase power from the open market in the current fiscal. The board would pay NTPC Rs 720 crore directly, while Rs 380 crore has been given to the board to purchase power from the open market.
The cabinet also gave its nod to the proposal of setting up a 7 MW hydelpower project by Bihar State Hydroelectric Corporation at Ararghat in Madehpura district at an estimated cost of Rs 65 crore.
