C'garh to extend education scheme to four more districts

Buoyed by the success of its education initiative ‘Prayas’, which helps tribal students from Naxal-hit areas to get into engineering colleges, the Chhattisgarh government has decided to extend the scheme to four more districts.

Tribal Welfare Minister Kedar Kashyap, in a missive to collectors of Sarguja, Raigarh, Korba and Batsar, has asked them to undertake necessary preparation to launch the project in their respective districts at the earliest, a government official said.

The department had established Prayas, a residential school-cum-coaching institute for boys, in Raipur in 2010. The department had picked students from Naxal-hit districts, who had passed Class 10 that year.

As many as 249 students of the first batch have passed Class 12 examination and many of them went on to clear entrances like PET and All India Engineering Entrance Examination and IIT this year.

Besides providing free education, the department gives funds for food, uniforms and other needs of the students.