MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government on Monday - September 5, in the midst of celebrating Teachers Day, inaugurated the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme, which will provide a monthly scholarship to all girl students in the state. The girl students, from class 6 to class 12, studying in government schools will be given Rs 1,000 every month. 

The scholarship amount will be provided to them until they finish their undergraduate, diploma or Industrial Training Institute courses. Along with the scholarship scheme, the Tamil Nadu government has also launched the 'Puthumai Penn Thittam' - 'Modern Women Scheme', which is based on the model schools in Delhi. The inaugural ceremony for this scheme was held at Bharathi Women's College in Chennai and it was inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the presence of his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin. 

The Delhi model school scheme will cover 26 schools of excellence and 15 model schools in the initial phase. The scholarship scheme is a remodelled version of the Moovalur Ramamirtham Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme. In an order that was released earlier this year, the state government said that the scheme was being remodelled to tackle and mitigate the low enrollment of female students in higher education. 

As per the scheme, the monthly scholarship amount to all eligible girl students will be transferred directly to their bank accounts. The scheme will be benefitting six lakh students every year and the state government had already allotted Rs 698 crore for this scheme in the 2022-23 budget. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has thanked Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal for inaugurating the model schools and for making the moment more special. 

Taking to Twitter, MK Stalin wrote, "The launch of Puthumai Penn, Model Schools & Schools of Excellence is a firm step that shows our commitment towards modernising the learning spaces & herald a new era of educational development. I thank Hon. Arvind Kejriwal for making this moment more special with his presence." 

It is pertinent to note that in April this year, MK Stalin visited government schools in Delhi along with Kejriwal and commended the infrastructure and facilities in the schools. After visiting such institutions, he affirmed that his government would introduce similar educational infrastructure in the state and will invite Kejriwal for the inauguration of the model schools. 

The launch of #PuthumaiPenn, Model Schools & Schools of Excellence is a firm step that shows our commitment towards modernising the learning spaces & herald a new era of educational development.

I thank Hon. @ArvindKejriwal for making this moment more special with his presence. pic.twitter.com/plVc3H00fs

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 5, 2022