Uttar Pradesh government will give Rs 6000 annual travel allowance to students

Why in news?

• The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a new travel allowance scheme to facilitate access to education for students living in remote areas of the state.
• Under this, eligible students will be provided financial assistance of ₹ 6000 annually, so that they can overcome the difficulties in traveling to school.

Objective and launch of the scheme

• To provide assistance to students living in remote areas to commute to school.
• To remove barriers caused by distance in education.
• To connect students from rural, tribal and backward areas to mainstream education.
• The scheme is being launched from the academic session 2025-26.
• Specially targeted areas where access to schools is difficult.

Who will be the beneficiaries

• Only students from class 9th to 12th will be eligible.
• The benefit will be given to those students whose home is at least 5 km away from the nearest government secondary school.
• The scheme will be applicable in the following districts:
  • Six districts of Bundelkhand: Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda.
  • Tribal dominated district of Purvanchal: Sonbhadra.
• The main focus of the scheme is on students from rural, tribal and educationally backward areas.

How much amount will be given and how

• Each eligible student will be given travel assistance of Rs 6000 per year.
• This assistance amount will be given through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• The amount can be released by September 5, 2025 as the first installment.
• This will provide timely travel assistance to students and enable them to maintain regular attendance.

Special provision for female students

• Around 4000 girl students of 146 government schools selected under the Pradhan Mantri School Vikas Yojana (PM SHRI) will also be eligible for this scheme.
• The aim of the scheme is to empower women education.
• Special focus has been given to girls from rural, tribal and disadvantaged sections.
• This inclusion is extremely important to maintain continuity in girls' education.

Application and Verification Process

• Students will have to fill a declaration form (proforma).
• In this proforma, it has to be declared that there is no government secondary school within 5 km of their house.
• The verification process will be in two parts:
  • In rural areas: Verification by the Gram Pradhan and the Principal of the school.
  • In urban areas: Verification by the local councilor.
• After verification, the name of the eligible student will be included in the list.

Terms and monitoring

• The student has to maintain regular school attendance to avail the scheme.
• At least 10% increase in attendance has to be shown as compared to the previous attendance.
• This provision has been added to maintain discipline and interest in education among the students.
• The school principal and the District Education Officer will monitor the attendance of the students.
• If a student does not fulfill the attendance condition, he will not get the allowance in future.

How many students will benefit

• About 24,000 students of Bundelkhand and Sonbhadra will get direct benefit from the scheme.
• Apart from this, about 4000 girl students of 146 schools associated with PM SHRI scheme will also get benefit.
• Total estimated beneficiary number: about 28,000 students.
• This scheme will empower the students educationally and reduce the dropout rate.