MP Govt to distribute free bicycles to SC, ST girls

Bhopal, May 9 (UNI) The Madhya Pradesh Government today decided to provide free bicycles to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe girl students getting admission to VIth class outside their villages.

The decision was taken at a state cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here today.

The cabinet also decided to provide free textbooks to general category and OBC students of primary schools and to general category and OBC students of BPL families studying in government middle schools, an official release said here today.

An expenditure of Rs 162.06 crore would be incurred on the distribution of bicycles to SC and ST girl students of VIth class during the 11th Five Years Plan.

The expenditure is estimated to be Rs 24.94 crore during 2007-08.

The distribution of free textbooks is likely to entail an expenditure of Rs 116.59 crore during the 11th Five Years Plan and Rs 15.39 crore during 2007-08.

The cabinet decided to relax the benchmark norms fixed for promotion of Assistant Professors to the post of Professor at the DPC meetings held in December 2005 and afterwards.

The norm ''very good minimum 13 marks'' has been relaxed one-time to ''good minimum 10 marks''. The decision would facilitate the promotion of Assistant Professors to the post of Professor.

The cabinet endorsed the draft MP Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of admission and fixation of fee) Bill, 2007.

The bill provides for constitution of an admission and fee regulation committee by the state government.

The term of the committee would be of three years. The admission to private professional educational institutions would be through common entrance examination.

The committee would fix the fee on the basis of infrastructure of the non-aided private professional educational institutions and the courses and the institutions would be given proper opportunity for hearing.

In case any irregularity comes to light, a competent authority would be authorised to nullify the admission.

Besides, affiliation and recognition of the concerning institution may also be cancelled.

Violation of the provisions of the bill would be a cognizable and non-bailable offence. In case the offence is proved, there is a provision of three years imprisonment and Rs one lakh fine.

The bill provides for 16 per cent reservation for SC, 20 per cent for ST and 14 per cent reservation for OBCs, the release added.

UNI