The Kerala government on Saturday, September 19, launched the first phase of a model project that aims to improve and facilitate the education of students from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. The project was launched by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan amid many from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe lacking adequate facilities at home for their children to study.

Under the project, the state government provides financial assistance of ₹2 lakh to the members of the SC community to set up a study room adjacent to their house. When the room is completed, study materials including computer will be made available to the students.

‘Today marks the inauguration of the completion of 12,250 study rooms across the state. An additional 3,750 study rooms will be completed this year. In addition, 8,500 study rooms will be created by 2021. This would be a model project for the entire country,’ the CM was quoted as saying by PTI.

Furthermore, under the project, community study rooms are also being set up for the students from Scheduled Tribe. So far, 250 community study rooms, each with a capacity to accommodate 30 students, have already been completed using public facilities such as community halls. The state government is aiming to set up a total of 500 community study rooms in the state.

The government is providing maximum support and assistance to empower the education of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe children. The CM added that SC students from Class V to Class VIII get very little educational assistance. He noted that 1,20,000 SC children in the state are receiving an educational assistance of ₹2,000 per child per year.

‘The lump-sum grant and stipend for SC/ST students has been increased by 50 per cent. A scheme has been started for Medical-Engineering Entrance Examination coaching for 1,000 SC students who have completed Plus Two,’ Vijayan added.

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