About ₹160.97 crore has been given to girl students till date under the ‘Pudhumai Penn’ scheme, the State government said on Saturday.
Recognising the low enrolment ratio of girl students from government schools in higher education and to promote it among girls belonging to the economically weaker families, the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Marriage Assistance scheme was transformed as the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance scheme-Pudhumai Penn scheme, according to an official statement.
All girl students who studied from Classes 6 to 12 in government schools will be paid ₹1,000/- per month till the uninterrupted completion of their undergraduate degree, diploma and ITI courses. The students shall be eligible for this in addition to other scholarships. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin rolled out the first phase of the scheme on September 5, 2022 and second phase on February 8, 2023.
About 1,16,260 girl students benefitted in the first phase and 93,105 in the second phase with an expenditure ₹100.11 crore. Under this scheme, a sum of ₹349.78 crore has been allocated during the financial year 2023-2024, out of which ₹60.86 crore has been spent till date, benefiting 2,11,506 girl students, the statement said.
