AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will launch the ‘Jagananna Vidya Kanuka’ scheme on Thursday, October 8. The chief minister will formally inaugurate the scheme at the Zilla Parishad School of Punadipadu in Krishna district. As part of the novel scheme, preparatory kits will be distributed to all the students of state government schools from 1^st class to 10^th class.

Each kit comprises three pairs of school uniform, a pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, a belt besides textbooks and notebooks and a school bag. The initiative, first of its kind in the country, is aimed at enhancing student interest towards academics and thereby bringing down the school dropout rate. The state government is implementing the unique scheme at a cost of Rs 650 crores.

On the eve of the launch of the scheme, YSRCP Rajya Sabha Member V Vijaysai Reddy took to his Twitter handle and gave an account of the highlights of the scheme.

“Jagananna Vidya Kanuka is going to benefit as many as 42.34 lakh students in the state. Textbooks featuring new syllabus, three pairs of uniform, a pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, a belt, notebooks and a schoolbag are being provided as part of the kit. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has embarked on this exemplary programme with the aim of providing quality education to the students right from the first standard,” he tweeted.

A total of 42,34,322 students from first standard to 10^th standard will be receiving these kits starting from October 8, Thursday. Boys will be given schoolbags of sky blue hue and girls will receive navy blue coloured bags. Keeping in view the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the state government is also distributing three masks to every students.

The ‘Jagananna Vidya Kanuka’ comes as part of a series of welfare measures initiated by CM YS Jagan to accord highest priority for the education department. The AP CM has already launched ‘Jagananna Gorumudda’, ‘Amma Vodi’, ‘Nadu-Nedu’ and several other schemes aimed in this direction. The basket of welfare schemes as part of reforms in the education sector, which are the brainchild of YS Jagan, are intended at reducing school dropouts and providing the best quality education right from the primary stage.