The Delhi Government has launched a scheme in which students can receive free coaching for different competitive examinations at private coaching centres provided their family's yearly income is less than Rs.8 lakh.
According to Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, 15,000 students have applied for the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana, and all available seats have been filled on Tuesday. He stated that classes will commence soon.
The scheme, which started in 2018, was terminated in 2020 when the city was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To be eligible for the benefits, a student must have completed Classes X and XII from a Delhi school and fulfill the eligibility requirements of the competitive exam for which he or she is preparing for. The scheme is applicable for JEE, NEET, CLAT, Civil Services, banking, railways, SSC, and other competitive examinations, and each student receives a stipend of 2,500 in addition to the course price to cover travel expenses.
"The government has made preparations and issued advertisements in media to resume offline coaching classes. Under the scheme, 15,000 bright Delhi students have registered in the 46 enrolled institutions," the Minister added.
A student can sign up for the scheme at the institute where he or she receives coaching. If the institute is not one of the 46 empanelled coaching centres, the government will grant the student up to 1 lakh rupees if they are proven to be eligible, and 40,000 rupees for extra courses.
Gautam stated that several large institutes, such as Vajiram for Civil Services and FIITJEE and Aakash for engineering and medical examinations, are not on the list. "They did not participate, even after we requested," he stated.
When questioned why the scheme was abandoned, a government official stated, "We halted it in 2020 because all of the coaching centres were closed due to the pandemic.
Monitoring was difficult for online classes, and many of the students covered by the scheme did not have access to the internet."
The list of recognized coaching centres may be found at: http://scstwelfare.delhigovt.nic.in/wps/wcm/connect/DoIT_Welfare/welfare/home/
