Nagpur: Concerned over the high dropout rate among girls from economically backward groups, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has come up with a lucrative ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 yearly attendance allowance for needy girl students from Class 1 to 10, and a bicycle for girls in Class 8 to 12 in its schools. Girls from Classes 1 to 10 would be entitled to ₹3,000 allowance for 75% to 90% attendance, and they will get ₹4,000 for 90% and above attendance. Under the cycle bank scheme, NMC shall also provide bicycles to needy girls of Class 8 to 12 if they come to school from a distance of 3km or more.
A provision of ₹2.50 crore has been made for attendance allowance, and ₹12.40 lakh for bicycles.
Another ₹10 lakh has been reserved for bicycles to other needy students, a press statement said. A total of 116 schools, including 88 primary and 28 secondary, are run by NMC. These schools have 18,173 students enrolled, including 12,984 students in the primary section and 5,189 students in the secondary section.
Almost all of these students belong to the poor socio-economic background. The initiative is part of ‘Mission Navchetna’ launched under the guidance of municipal commissioner Abhijit Chaudhary. The schools have undergone drastic changes to improve the overall learning and teaching experience.
In September 2023, all the schools were thoroughly surveyed and based on the observations, three stages of development were decided. Accordingly, ₹4.68 crore will be made availa.
