Gandhinagar: Chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday presided over an event where a sum of Rs 354 crore was transferred into the bank accounts of 13.96 lakh students under schemes like the Namo Lakshmi Yojana, Namo Saraswati Vigyan Sadhana Yojana, Mukhyamantri Gyan Sadhana Merit, and Mukhyamantri Gyan Setu Merit Scholarship and SSIP 2.0 scheme.Speaking at the event, the chief minister urged students to limit their use of social media and focus more on their studies. He said that there was a notable increase of between 6% and 7% in the enrolment of girls after implementation of schemes that provide financial assistance for continuing education. A state-level event to mark the occasion was held at the Vidya Samiksha Kendra, with students and teachers joining virtually from different parts of the state. An official statement said that so far, the state govt has provided assistance of Rs 1,871.78 crore to 27.61 lakh students under Namo Lakshmi Yojana and Namo Saraswati Vigyan Sadhana Yojana. An official statement said that a provision of Rs 1,500 crore has been made in the state’s 2026-27 budget for these two schemes. Patel said that the overall dropout rate of girl students has fallen to just 2% and schools are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities like smart classrooms and digital laboratories. The CM also disbursed incentive cheques for innovative projects of students under SSIP 2.0. A total of Rs 69.69 lakh was provided to 735 young students. Education minister Pradyuman Vaja said that at the school level, a grant of up to Rs 20,000 is provided under SSIP to develop an interest in entrepreneurship among students. The education minister added that in the past one year, 12,708 teachers have been appointed in primary schools and 9,400 in secondary schools to bolster education.
