Cong stretches its sop opera, vows free laptops for college-goers now

All the students in the state who have passed Std XII and studying in colleges and universities can get free laptops from Congress if the party comes to power next year.

This was announced as sixth point of the party's agenda under Gujarat Praja Vikas Darshan-2012 at a press conference addressed by Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Arjun Modhwadia and party's election campaign committee chairman Shankersinh Vaghela here on Tuesday.

The laptop scheme, according to Modhwadia, would initially cost not more than Rs 150 crore for graduate and post-graduate students in the state.

Releasing their ambitious education policy, the Congress leaders announced setting up of a special "vidya nidhi" for scholarship to poor and middle-class students studying in self-financed colleges and framing of a special law for payment of full salaries to teachers of private educational institutions.

The "vidya nidhi" scheme, they said, would ensure no student abandoned his/her study due to financial crisis. The tuition fee of 30 per cent of poor and middle-class students studying in self-financed institutes would be paid from "vidya nidhi".

The party also announced to make education loans available easily by coordinating with nationalised and state cooperative banks.

It also promised to extend pre-matric scholarship of the central government for religious and linguistic minorities held up by the existing BJP government from retrospective effect, that is 2005, when the scheme was announced by the central government.

They also announced filling up of 55 per cent of vacancies in the government colleges, including technical institutions and 60 per cent vacancies in higher educational institutions immediately after coming to power.

Currently, more than 70 per cent of teaching posts in all government medical and engineering colleges are vacant, affecting studies.

ALSO READ

'Top cop Pandey, now on run, plotted Ishrat encounter with IB man'

NIA nabs 2 Ajmer Sharif blast suspects in Vadodara

Youth shot, Amreli tense as groups clash

Deserted by husband just after marriage, Gujarat girl clears top UPSC exam