Free education till graduation will make girls selfreliant: CM
YOGI TO STUDENTS ‘Take pride, make your presence felt’
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said his government had made the provision of free education for all girls till graduation under the Ahilyabai Free Education Scheme which would make them self-reliant.
Addressing a programme ‘Beti Padhao, Roshni Badhao’ organised by a social enterprise Dharma Life Foundation and International Finance Corporation, Yogi appealed to the girls to take pride in themselves and make their presence felt.
He said the scheme aimed at making women self-reliant and helping them contribute to the all-round development of the society. “We want to boost their confidence,” he said.
UP government has made a budgetary provision of Rs 21 crore to provide free education to girls up to graduation under the Ahilyabai Nishulk Shiksha Yojana.
The CM said his government had given its nod to 61,700 selfhelp groups (SHG) and asked the officials of Dharma Life Foundation to collaborate with them and bring a positive change in the society, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.
He said October 11 was observed as the International Day of Girl Child declared by the United Nations.
The day also marks the birth anniversary of Nanaji Deshmukh and socialist thinker Jayaprakash Narayan. The CM also felicitated a few women entrepreneurs and winners of the painting competition.
Highlighting the achievements of his government, Yogi said more than 6 lakh youths had been trained in skill development and 1.53 crore children had been given free books and new school uniform in the last six months.
UP minister for women, child and family welfare Rita Bahuguna Joshi said the theme of ‘Beti Padhao, Roshni Badhao’ was in tandem with the central government’s social initiative ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’.
“It is a matter of pride that social enterprises are taking up the responsibility of ensuring a brighter tomorrow for girls,” she said.
About 500 students from various schools of Lucknow attended the event and were a part of the painting competition on the theme ‘My Female Hero’.
The competition was organised to sensitise the younger generation on gender equality and women empowerment. Nearly a hundred rural women entrepreneurs of Dharma Life from different districts of UP attended the programme.
“These entrepreneurs were selected and trained to become social change makers in their villages by addressing the issues of awareness, accessibility and affordability for social impact products such as solar lights among others,” said director, Dharma Life Foundation, Gaurav Mehta.
“They are working towards a better tomorrow for themselves, their families as well as their communities,” he added.