Attacking the Samajwadi Party for allegedly siphoning off scholarships meant for SC/ST students during its rule, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said no child should be deprived of education and assured that students in need would receive scholarships.
He was addressing a programme in Lucknow where scholarships and fee reimbursements were transferred to the bank accounts of more than 4.60 lakh students.
Adityanath calls for scholarships to reach every eligible child
The chief minister also directed the Social Welfare Department, Backward Classes Welfare Department and Minority Welfare Department to ensure the money reaches the child's account every month and no eligible child is left out.
Taking a swipe at the Samajwadi Party, Adityanath said that before 2017, the “Saifai syndicate” had no time for anything except looting and plundering.
“These people thought only of their own families; everyone else in the state was an outsider. But now, UP has moved on the path of prosperity,” he said.
"We will ensure that scholarship reaches every eligible child. Today, 4.60 lakh children are receiving scholarships. We have to take this to 70 lakh children. Modi ji's technology campaign has stopped pilferage, and now no one can siphon off children's scholarship money,” the CM said.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made arrangements for zero-balance bank accounts to be opened, which, he claimed, was not possible earlier.
"Back when we were students, the very idea of opening a zero-balance account was out of the question," Adityanath said.
CM targets previous government over schools and scholarships
He further claimed that during the Samajwadi Party regime, schools in UP were in dire need of overhaul, with a lack of basic infrastructure contributing to the dropout rate.
"Your generation is fortunate to be studying in UP at a time when there is no crisis of identity. Before 2017, schools had no teachers, and buildings were dilapidated. The dropout rate in Basic Education, from Classes 1 to 8, was 19-20 per cent. The (previous) government had no interest in correcting this. When we conducted a study after forming the government, we found that most girls were leaving school because there were no toilets, drinking water, or other such facilities,” he said.
"The then government had pocketed this scholarship. When our government was formed in 2017, we disbursed the scholarships for 2016-17 and 2017-18 together. Earlier, the government provided only Rs 2,900 crore in scholarships. Today, our government provides Rs 6,200 crore in scholarships, more than double the earlier amount," Adityanath said.
The CM transferred more than Rs 148 crore in scholarship/fee reimbursement to the accounts of over 4.60 lakh students of Classes 9-10 and post-matric for the current financial year at Lok Bhawan and also personally handed scholarship certificates to 11 students, the UP government said in a statement.
He assured that there is no shortage of funds for students.
"Earlier, only 60 to 70 children out of 100 benefited from scholarships. Clerks and others used to siphon off the money, leaving students cheated. Earlier, the cost of commuting often exceeded the scholarship amount a student received, and today, a bank account has been opened for every student's scholarship. But today, accounts are opened and students' money is sent directly into them," he said.
UP government highlights welfare schemes and education reforms
Adityanath said that last year, scholarships worth Rs 2,750 crore were provided to 26.26 lakh students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Rs 360 crore to 5.89 lakh children from minority communities, and Rs 3,072 crore to 37 lakh students from Backward Classes. Similarly, the government provided scholarships to 9.40 lakh children from low-income groups.
The government has set a deadline for scholarship distribution. After completing the admission process, the government started sending scholarship amounts to accounts, he added.
"Earlier, youth used to go to other states to prepare for JEE and NEET. Now, youth are benefiting from this through Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Coaching," he said.
The CM gave detailed information about Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana and Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana.
"Next month, we will give scooty to 50,000 meritorious girls."
“We improved this through Operation Kayakalp. Now, separate toilets for boys and girls, drinking water, furniture, flooring, along with two uniforms, bags, books, sweaters, shoes and socks, are being provided," he added. He further said that earlier Uttar Pradesh was considered a ‘BIMARU’ state, but the situation has now changed. "Earlier, due to the lack of education, the state was called 'BIMARU'. Now, revenue-surplus UP is contributing to India's development. Now, 'UPwala' walks with his head held high," he said.
"UP has now moved forward in the right direction. The youth and little ones are the charioteers of UP," he said.