The Karnataka government has announced that it will provide free education to all girls in the state from Class 1 to graduation level in public and private educational institutions from the 2018-2019 academic year, The Times of India reported on Saturday. The Congress government led by Siddaramaiah in Karnataka has earmarked Rs 110 crore for the scheme.
“It is mainly in rural areas, where girls come from families earning less than Rs 10 lakh [per annum], that the government needs to extend incentives,” Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi said, according to the English newspaper. “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.” Nearly 18 lakh students from families that earn less than Rs 10 lakh a year are likely to benefit.
According to the scheme, the students are expected to pay the fees upfront at the time of admission and then get it reimbursed from the government. However, the examination fees will not be covered.
“To avoid confusion or misuse of the scheme, it would be better to reimburse the beneficiaries. This is what we are doing with the fee education scheme announced for children of farmers who committed suicide,” Rayareddi said.
The announcement comes ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka scheduled for next year.
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