In a significant step towards educational parity, Jharkhand’s Welfare Department is set to extend its free bicycle scheme to eighth-grade students of recognised private schools.  With the expansion, an additional one lakh students will benefit, pushing the total number of recipients around five lakh.

Until now, the initiative covered approximately 3.90 lakh students studying in government and welfare department-run schools.

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Welfare Minister Chamra Linda, in a recent meeting with officials, questioned why students of recognised schools were excluded from the scheme when they already receive scholarships from the department. He emphasised that children studying in grant-in-aid schools deserve the same facilities as their peers in government institutions. Following this directive, the department has initiated the process of drafting a proposal to include these students.

Once the proposal receives departmental approval and the Finance Department’s sanction, it will be placed before the state cabinet. Post-approval, the procurement process for the bicycles will commence. 

Officials from the Welfare Department stated that the actual number of eighth-grade students enrolled in recognised private schools would be sought from the Education Department. The proposal will include precise figures, detailing the number of schools, their names, and the school-wise count of students eligible for the scheme.

Currently, each bicycle provided under the scheme costs Rs 4,130. Extending this benefit to one lakh more children would require an additional Rs 41.30 crore, taking the total annual expenditure for around five lakh students to Rs 206.50 crore.

The Welfare Department aims to roll out the expanded scheme from the 2025-26 academic session. For students in government and welfare schools, the department has set a deadline of May to complete the distribution process. After finalising the tender, bicycles will be distributed to all eligible students simultaneously.

This ambitious initiative marks a crucial step towards ensuring educational equity, providing thousands of students with the means to reach their schools conveniently and encouraging continued education in Jharkhand’s rural and semi-urban regions.