GUWAHATI: Taking its war against child marriage to a ‘decisive phase’, the Assam government on Sunday implemented “Nijut Moina”, a scheme encouraging girl students to pursue higher studies.Under the scheme, all girl students from Class 11 to post-graduate level will be provided with monthly stipends. The stipends are Rs 1,000 for students of Classes 11 and 12, Rs 1,250 for degree students and Rs 2,500 for students pursing post-graduation.The stipends, however, come with two riders – the students will have to attend their classes regularly, be disciplined and fare well in exams, and secondly, they cannot get married until post-graduation.The daughters of ministers, MPs and MLAs will not be eligible for the stipends. The first instalment was disbursed on Sunday. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government was working towards eradicating child marriage by 2026.“On Navratri, our war against child marriage has entered into a decisive phase as we began disbursing monthly financial assistance under #NijutMoina. On the 11th (day) of every month, Assam’s daughters will receive a fixed payments to be in college,” Sarma posted on X.He was hopeful that the scheme, launched on August 8, would be a game-changer in the fight against child marriage.“Nijut Moina is unique as it incentivises positive social outcomes, funds higher education, reduces family expenses and bars child marriage by encouraging girls to remain in college. The scheme aims to cover 10 lakh girl students with an outlay of ~ 1,500 crore,” Sarma said. He said overwhelming evidence of past efforts steered the government to take this initiative.
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