Poverty to progress: Tamil Nadu gov’t celebrates success of education, scholarship schemes

This Tamil Nadu government scheme has significantly improved the lives of underprivileged children, allowing them to pursue their dream of furthering their education.

The monthly scholarship of Rs 1,000 under the 'Tamil Pudhalvan' and 'Pudhumai Penn' schemes for state-run school students, as well as the skilling program under the 'Naan Mudhalvan' initiative, has assisted many rural children in realising their dreams of becoming graduates, engineers, doctors, or lawyers. 

"These initiatives of the education department are making high school and higher education accessible to scores of students, fuelling their desire to study for better prospects in life," officials told PTI.

On Thursday, September 25, beneficiaries of the Naan Mudhavalan scheme and other initiatives in education by the Tamil Nadu government were invited to be a part of a state government event to mark these programmes' success in Chennai with the message, “Tamil Nadu excels in education”.

One of them, Subbalakshmi of Ranipet, opened up about her journey, saying, “I stopped asking my relatives and others for money to study. The monthly grant under 'Pudhumai Penn' has helped me to study the EEE course.”

Her father, a farmer who raised goats, and mother, a daily wage labourer, could not afford to send her to college.

Thanking Chief Minister MK Stalin for the Pudhumai Penn scheme, which helped her study, Subbalakshmi, who is in her third year, said, “I hope to complete my course and realise my ambition to become a math teacher. I wish that you extend this assistance to students pursuing PG courses.”

In response, the chief minister invited her onto the stage and presented her with his pen, prompting the student to seek his blessings, as well as those of Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who was invited as a chief guest. 

Several other beneficiaries, such as 34-year-old Sathya, who joined an engineering course along with her son, and Ramya of Thanjavur, who bought her mother a hearing aid with savings from her scholarship, shared their stories at the event. 

At the event, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was seen wiping away tears as beneficiaries shared their experiences and emphasised their desire to learn, praising the state government's initiatives.

The programme also featured students who had received further education abroad.