"Kanyashree" Scheme of West Bengal Empowers Over 60 Lakh Girls
The "Kanyashree" scheme was started six years back by the state government of West Bengal. It has helped in empowering more than 60 lakh girls in all these years.
On 14th August 2019, Wednesday, a celebration was held to mark the sixth anniversary of Kanyashree, the flagship scholarship project that was launched by the government of West Bengal. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamta Banerjee, was present for the celebration and told everyone that the scheme has empowered over 60 lakh female students ever since it was incepted.
Ms. Banerjee addressed the scheme beneficiaries and said that the Kanyashree scheme, which was started in the year 2013, has empowered more than 60 lakh students till now. The total budget has exceeded Rs. 7,000 crores since its launch. She also appreciated all the teachers and students who are associated with the programmes.
Mamta Banerjee further said that all the students, irrespective of their sex, will continue to gain success if there is no discrimination between girls and boys. She preached that the students should not have any feeling of hatred in their hearts and they must learn to spread love.
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The scheme of Kanyashree was introduced in order to prevent the early marriage of girl children who belong to families that are at a disadvantage socio-economically and have a family income that is less than Rs. 1,20,000. The scheme was initiated so that girls who come from families that are underprivileged and have financial constraints can also pursue education and not get married at a tender age.
Mamta Banerjee had lifted the ceiling on the annual family income for the beneficiaries of the welfare scheme in the year 2018. She aimed at ensuring that girls stay in school to complete their education and delay their marriages until they are at least 18 years old. The CM of West Bengal had also announced that the state government will build a university for all the “Kanyashree girls” so that they can pursue higher education as well.
Ms. Banerjee also gave special instructions to the department of state education for holding special training camps for all the girls that are enrolled under the Kanyashree scheme. She also asked the skill development department to provide the girls with skill training so as to increase their chances of getting recruited.
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Several schemes that are on similar lines as those of Kanyashree have been initiated by the Government of India in order to promote the education of girl children. Providing financial assistance or free of cost education to the girls of underprivileged families is an incredible move that has proven to be successful over the years. These schemes and programmes provide a major contribution towards educating more and more girl children and pave the path to success for them.