Why State government's free laptop scheme has failed to find any takers?
- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had ambitious plans to provide free laptops among poor students
- Students studying in government degree colleges were made eligible for it
- Principals of government colleges issued notice for not helping the scheme to take off
FollowThe State government's much-talked free laptop scheme to students surprisingly has found no takers. Yes, you read it right. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had launched the initiative to provide free laptop to students from government colleges to pursue higher education. But so far, the government has received no applications in this regard.
Upset over this, the Higher Education Department has now issued a notice to government degree college principals seeking why they failed to help students avail the facility, reports Kannada Prabha.
But what the state government has failed to understand is the fact that the income seal fixed by it for the beneficiaries. To avail the laptop scheme, the family income of the student should not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh, as prescribed by the government. Turns out, eligible students are finding it difficult to produce the income certificate. On the other hand, the government provides scholarship to students whose family income is not more than Rs 6 lakh. This mindless move to fix the income sealing that has resulted in the failure of laptop scheme is now being criticised, widely.
The government had planned provide nearly 1.5 lakh laptops among poor students. But with no one coming forward to avail the facility, the irked directorate of Higher Education Department has issued a notice to all the degree colleges seeking reason why no students from their colleges has come forward to claim the facility. Even the telephone calls and messages in spreading the message among the students has been useless.
In fact, it is said that unless the law with regard to the income certificate is changed, the scheme may not see the light of the day. But the power to do so lies with the Central ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. While Karnataka and other states have written to the Central government to bring in amendment to the rule, nothing has been done in this regard, so far, it is said.
