‘Education is the key to make Haryana No. 1’

Education for all becomes even more important in the context of modern global knowledge economy. Keeping with the changing trends and needs, Haryana has increased the budgetary allocation for Education Department from Rs 1,600 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 3,200 crore in the current year. We have also declared 2008 as the Year of Education.

Today, education is not only considered a beacon of light to kindle the rays of literacy but is also a key component of planning for development. The state Government is aware that educational opportunities are the tools to bring about socio-economic changes that transform a society into a just and an equitable order. It is by establishing such an order that the noble ideals of our Constitution can be realised and, therefore, to this end my Government has been working tirelessly.

Three years ago when we formed Government in Haryana, we focussed on a multi-pronged strategy to ensure that our children get quality education. We took a conscious decision to deviate from the conventional practices and launched reforms in all the three tiers — primary, secondary and higher education. The underlying idea was to lay emphasis on inclusive development in which benefits of education and development would reach all social groups.

To drastically reduce dropout rate of students belonging to weaker sections of society, a comprehensive scheme at the cost of nearly Rs 280 crore was formulated under which all girl students belonging to Scheduled Caste families were given a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 150 to Rs 400. Similarly, boys belonging to these classes were given a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 300 per month. For meeting all school-related expenses, one-time allowance ranging from Rs 740 to Rs 1,450 was given. Similar benefits for girls belonging to BPL families are being considered.

The results of these efforts are before us as the dropout rate of students belonging to Scheduled Castes and weaker sections has come down significantly. Also, parents who used to withdraw students from schools due to economic reasons are now encouraged to send their wards to schools. These innovative schemes have the potential to go a long way in empowering weaker sections of society.

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