The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said the decline in State funding in the key social sector programmes, including education, is a matter of particular concern. He said this after inaugurating the 4th phase of the Vidyadhanam project at Kochi, Ernakulam in Kerala today. The Governor of Kerala, Justice (Retd.) P. Sathasivam and the Minister for Forests, Animal Husbandry and Zoos, Kerala, Shri K. Raju were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that in addition to increasing the government investments in education, it is also essential to maintain the funding levels of other social welfare schemes, especially those operating in the rural sector- to ensure that that falling incomes of parents do not impact the educational prospects of in-school children.
The Vice President said that the Vidyadhanam was a unique project, as it not only provides financial incentive and scholarship to bright students from Government and aided schools, but also encourages cultivation of life skills, such as thrift and financial inclusion.The Vice President said that the spread of education in Kerala has led to enhancement of individual freedom, created a better climate for gender equity and led to much faster reduction in income poverty than in many other States of India. Shri M. Hamid Ansari said the remarkable performance of Kerala on the various socio-economic indicators, which approximate more those of the developed countries than developing ones, is a testimony to the transformative power of mass education.