CHENNAI: The School Education Department has identified that over 42,000 government school students at the secondary level have missed financial aid under the Special Cash Incentive Scheme (SCIS) for the academic year 2024-2025.
The department introduced the scheme for the secondary students (Classes 10 to 12) in government and government-aided schools, providing an incentive of Rs 1,500 for students in Classes 10 and 11 and Rs 2,000 for Class 12 students through the Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (TNPFC) on completion of Class 12, to reduce dropouts.
A senior official noted that a total of 3.3 lakh students were beneficiaries of the scheme for 2024-2025. "However, the authorities concerned were notified that the bank details of nearly 96,800 students, who did not receive the financial assistance, were verified," he said, adding, "of the total students who are yet to get the aid, bank details of only 54,300 students were scrutinised, and the amount was disbursed to them".
The official stated that the department has instructed all the headmasters to ensure that the bank details of the remaining, a little over 42,000 students who are yet to receive the aid, should be verified immediately.
The department has also sought a detailed report on the same, the official said.
"The school managements have been instructed to upload the students' details, including their bank account numbers, on the Educational Management Information System (EMIS), a common online platform connecting government, schools, and students," he added.
Stating that every year the state government is spending more than Rs 200 crore to implement this scheme, the official attributed the delay in the disbursal of financial assistance to the poor verification of students' data by state-run schools.