To set an example in promoting girls’ education in the state, the Bihar government has decided to offer scholarships to unmarried female students who have performed well in the Bihar Board Class 12 Exams this year.
For this, the state government has started the process of identifying the beneficiaries for the scheme, under which they will be awarded INR 10,000 as part of the scholarship. The one-time monetary award will be given to the girls as part of the Nitish Kumar government’s ambitious scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana’ (MKUY), launched in April this year.
“A direction has been given by the education department to all districts to shortlist beneficiaries who cleared the state’s Plus-Two exam, the results of which were declared on June 6, for the state government award,” Principal Secretary, Education, R K Mahajan, was quoted as saying by a news agency.
Mahajan said that after identifying the eligible candidates, the scholarship award would be transferred directly to their bank account in July.
“The scheme, run by the education department, aims to promote education among girls, besides fighting social evils like child marriage, which, in turn, would lower fertility rate and control population. Only unmarried girls who cleared the Plus-Two exam are eligible for the benefit,” the principal secretary stated.
The state government’s ambitious MKUY scheme, which would benefit around 1.60 crore girls every year, offers a number of incentives for them, right from their birth till they complete their graduation.
In case of a graduate, the state promised to offer a sum of INR 25,000, irrespective of the girl’s marital status.
“The programme aims to take care of a girl, irrespective of her caste or religion, by providing a total sum of INR 54,100 at different stages,” Mahajan said, adding, “The Nitish Kumar government has earmarked INR 1,400 crore for the scheme.”
As per the latest updates from the state government, the scheme would be limited to two children per family.
The government has also decided to spend annually INR 60,000 per girl child apart from the existing schemes such as scholarship, bi-cycle scheme, Students Credit Card etc.
