Delhi govt announces re-start of scheme for free coaching for underprivileged

The Delhi government on Friday restarted its popular free coaching scheme for the underprivileged people, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal announced in presence of chief minister Atishi.
The ‘Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana’ aims to provide coaching opportunities for various competitive examinations such as civil services, engineering, medical to students from underprivileged classes.
“The scheme was stopped on purpose after I went to jail. I am happy that today the Delhi government has restarted the scheme for the SC, ST, OBC, EWS community students. The pending payments to institutes will be made soon after necessary verifications, and the students of the poor facilities will once again get the opportunities to get free coaching after registrations,” said Kejriwal in a veiled dig at the BJP-led central government for halting the scheme.
Also Read: Delhi govt to initiate coaching classes for poor Class 10, 12 graduates
“In 2017 we started a scheme Mukhyamantri Jai Bheem Yojna under which students from Dalit, ST, OBC and EWS communities were provided free coaching for competitive exams. I also had to take coaching from two coaching institutes for IIT-JEE after 12th… I also took coaching for civil services after passing out from IIT… the coaching is very costly and people from underprivileged classes cannot afford the coaching…their kids are intelligent, but they do not get opportunities”, Kejriwal said.
“The aim of our government is to provide them with the same opportunities that the kids of the rich get. The scheme was aimed at providing the necessary opportunities to students from underprivileged classes. The Delhi government paid all the coaching fees for such students, and later we also provided the students ₹2,500 per month for miscellaneous expenditure,” Kejriwal said.
The number of students who have so far availed the free coaching scheme was not immediately available.
Officials said hurdles in the free coaching scheme crept up due to Covid-19 when the coaching centers were closed for a long time due to restrictions and payments pending issues were also reported.
“Due to Covid some obstacles were created… the scheme was stopped on purpose after I went to jail. I am happy that today the Delhi government has restarted the scheme for the SC, ST, OBC, EWS community students. The pending payments to institutes will be made soon after necessary verifications, and the students of the poor facilities will once again get the opportunities to get free coaching after registrations,” said Kejriwal.
The response of the BJP is awaited, and the copy will be updated whenever it is received.