3 min readAhmedabadFeb 2, 2024 09:36 PM IST
First published on: Feb 2, 2024 at 09:36 PM IST
In his budget presentation Friday, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai announced the launch of Mission Schools of Excellence 2.0 to strengthen secondary and higher secondary education. In addition, two new schemes — ‘Namo Lakshmi’ and ‘Namo Saraswati’ — have also been announced in the 2024-25 budget.
While ‘Namo Saraswati’ aims to encourage students to pursue science stream education, ‘Namo Lakshmi’ targets universal enrolment in secondary education by offering financial assistance to girls up to Class 12.
Under the Namo Lakshmi Yojana, adolescent girls studying in government, granted and private schools from classes 9 to 12 will be given Rs 50,000 over the four years — Rs 10,000 annually in classes 9 and 10, and Rs 15,000 per year in classes 11 and 12 — to complete their education.
“The main aims of this scheme are to increase enrolment, to reduce dropouts, and also to improve the nutritional status of adolescent girls. Moreover, with the implementation of this scheme, the state will be able to achieve universal enrolment in secondary education just as the state has achieved universal enrolment in primary education,” Desai stated in his budget speech. The government has set aside Rs 1,250 crore in the upcoming financial year for the scheme. The scheme is to benefit around 10 lakh girls studying in classes 9 to 12 in government, aided and private schools.
According to the education department, Rs 10,000 per annum for class 9 and 10 will be disbursed as Rs 500 monthly based on attendance. The balance 50 per cent will be credited to the account after they clear the Class 10 board exam.
Similarly, Rs 15,000 per annum for classes 11 and 12 will be transferred in monthly instalments of Rs 750 for 10 months based on attendance, while the remaining 50 per cent will be credited to their accounts after they clear the Class 12 board exam.
All girls who have completed Class 8 and enrolled in Class 9 in government and aided schools will be covered under the scheme. However, for girls in private schools, the government has set a family income cap of Rs 6 lakh per annum.
Namo Lakshmi Yojana will be available as an additional benefit to the students covered under Namo Saraswati Merit Scholarship.
Meanwhile, the allocation for the education sector, comprising school, and higher and technical education, has seen a gradual rise over the past seven years. With Rs 55,114 crore set aside for the sector, the allocation has nearly doubled from the Rs 27,500 crore provisioned in the 2018-19 budget.
The budget for school education under the sector has also risen over the same period, with the current allocation more than double of that in the 2018-19 budget. The school education budget has increased from Rs 23,897 crore to Rs 49,295 crore in the past seven years.
All girls who have completed Class 8 and enrolled in Class 9 in government and aided schools will be covered under the scheme. (Representational photo) 
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