Rajasthan govt to sponsor professional education of labourers’ children

Rajasthan labour minister Jaswant Yadav said that about 21 lakh labourers registered under BOCW (building and other construction workers) will be eligible to avail the benefit. The eligible students will be able to apply for the scholarship online through the labour department’s website.

The Rajasthan labour department on Wednesday took a decision that the state will bear the total education expenses of children of registered labourers who pursue any professional course, such as medical and engineering courses, in any government college in the state.

The total outlay for the new scheme is yet to be worked out, but the money will come out of the welfare budget allocated to the labour department.(Picture for representation)

State labour minister Jaswant Yadav said that about 21 lakh labourers registered under BOCW (building and other construction workers) will be eligible to avail the benefit. The eligible students will be able to apply for the scholarship online through the labour department’s website.

“At present, children of registered labourers get the scholarship from school. Now, the government has decided to extend the scholarship to cover the expenses of all the job-oriented professional degree courses provided the student (labourer’s child) takes admission in a government college. The fees will be reimbursed annually, subject to the condition that the student clears the examination,” a senior labour department official, who did not want to be named, said.

The total outlay for the new scheme is yet to be worked out, but the money will come out of the welfare budget allocated to the labour department.

“Last year, the department spent about Rs 317 crore for different welfare schemes, including school scholarships for children of labourers. The amount is expected to cross Rs 600 crore in 2018-19,” the official said.

Welcoming the decision, activist Nikhil Dey, who is associated with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), said that it is a good decision and will benefit many labourers.

Chief minister Vasundhara Raje has announced a series of sops in the election year that include payment of Rs 1,000 in two installments to one crore beneficiaries of NFSA (National Food Security Act) for purchase of smartphones, waiver of farm loans of up to Rs 50,000 taken from cooperative banks, and increasing dearness allowance (DA) of the state employees from 7% to 9% with retrospective effect from July 1, 2018.

Rajasthan goes to polls later this year.

State Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma said, “We are not opposed to the welfare scheme, but the government should have taken this step four years ago. That it’s been done two months before the elections shows that it’s a populist measure aimed at garnering votes.”