Mayor hints at boost to school Infrastructure

CHENNAI: Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy on Wednesday hinted at a special package for educational infrastructure, in the Chennai Corporation’s budget to be tabled on March 12. Addressing student-beneficiaries at a function to distribute the annual education assistance at the Corporation headquarters here, Duraisamy said, “To fulfil Chief Minister J Jayalalaithaa’s vision to improve educational infrastructure in Chennai Corporation-run schools, the AIADMK-led civic administration has chalked out several new plans, which will be unveiled in the forthcoming budget.”Duraisamy hinted that the Corporation would allocate a huge package in the budget for the proposed schemes in the education sector.The Mayor also distributed education assistance to the tune of `17.40 lakh to 202 students, who had passed out of  Chennai Corporation-run schools last March and are now pursuing higher studies. After the AIADMK came to power in the Chennai Corporation, the  number of student-beneficiaries in each category has been doubled, the Mayor said.The beneficiaries this year included 50 students from medical and engineering streams (`25,000 each per year), 16 from teacher training and nursing courses (`5,000 each), 100 from Arts and Science streams (`3,000 each), 35 from diploma courses (` 3,000 each) and a lone student pursuing Bachelor of Laws (Rs 5,000).The Mayor also advised the students who were present at the venue to cultivate the habit of reading to improve their knowledge.