The Tamil Nadu government will organise special camps for male students ahead of the Tamil Pudhavalan programme for boys in schools.
This programme, which will be launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin on August 9, will offer Rs 1,000 per month to these students who attended government schools from Class VI to Class XII until they complete their undergraduate (UG)/Diploma/Industrial training institute (ITI) or any other recognised course.
When this programme for female students at government schools was launched, it was difficult to implement because the students did not have bank accounts. The state school education department organised camps and supported students in opening bank accounts, as the system calls for direct transfers of funds to students' accounts.
A higher education government source told IANS that special workshops would be set up in colleges with bank support to help male students open bank accounts.
The Tamil Pudhalvan scheme would have an annual budget of Rs 360 crore.
When Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu announced the initiative before the Assembly in February 2024, he stated that it was created to encourage male students' enrollment in higher education.
According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), boys lagged behind girls.
As per the study, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of girls in higher education is 47.3 per cent, whereas that of boys is 46.8 per cent.
