4 months ago
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The State authorities has decided to administer currency prizes alternatively of laptops to students of authorities precocious schools who people highest marks successful the SSLC examination.
However, the determination has drawn the ire of many.
Under the Quality Assurance and Student Motivation Initiative Action Plan inducement programme, the authorities has been rewarding 3 people 10 toppers who studied successful authorities schools from each taluk with a laptop, since 2010-11.
The authorities issued an bid connected January 22, directing the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) to alternatively administer a currency prize of ₹50,000, alternatively of a laptop. The caller directive volition beryllium applicable from the world twelvemonth 2024-25, arsenic toppers for this twelvemonth were yet to beryllium rewarded nether the scheme.
The authorities had already fixed an administrative support for ₹3.25 crore to administer laptops for toppers successful 2025-26, adjacent arsenic laptops were not yet distributed for 2024-25. But mid-way the authorities has present decided to alteration the quality of the strategy based connected a connection by the KSEAB.
“If currency prizes are distributed to students alternatively of laptops, it volition beryllium beneficial for their aboriginal education. This wealth volition assistance students enroll successful bully colleges and acquisition textbooks and different equipment. The determination has been taken to assistance students,” said a elder authoritative of the KSEAB.
The government, which has approved the KSEAB proposal, has directed that the currency prize beryllium disbursed done the State Scholarship Portal (SSP) to the slope accounts linked to the students’ Aadhaar numbers via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
A full of 758 toppers eligible for the strategy for the world twelvemonth 2024-25 volition besides present get currency prizes, credited to their slope accounts, and not laptops.
Govt. determination opposed
However, the School Development Monitoring Committee (SDMC) has opposed the government’s decision. “The government’s determination to abruptly alteration the quality of the scheme, which has been successful effect for the past 15 years, is not right. In the IT era, laptops are much utile and convenient for students to survey optimally. However, successful astir cases, parents volition extremity up utilizing the currency prize magnitude provided to the students. Moreover, it is not imaginable to bargain a bully laptop for ₹50,000 astatine the existent market. Therefore, the authorities should reinstate the strategy of providing laptops to students,” said Umesh G. Gangavadi, State president of the SDMC, adding that a petition would beryllium submitted to the Chief Minister successful this regard.
