In letter to PM, Sonia seeks free education for kids orphaned during pandemic

New Delhi, May 20: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide free education to children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to the prime minister, she said the nation owes it to children to give them hope and provide a robust future after their tragedy.

"I am writing to request you to consider providing free education at the Navodaya Vidyalayas to children who have lost either both parents or an earning parent on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I feel that as a nation, we owe it to them to give them hope for a robust future after the unimaginable tragedy that has befallen them," Gandhi told the prime minister.

She noted that there have been news of young children losing one or both parents to COVID-19.

"These children are left with the trauma of loss and no support towards a stable education or future," she said.

The Congress chief also recalled how creation of Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country was her husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi''s most significant legacies.

It was his dream to make high-quality modern education accessible and affordable to talented youth, predominantly from rural areas, she said.

Gandhi said there are around 661 such schools across the country currently.

There have been reports of children losing either an earning parent or both parents during the pandemic that has so far claimed over 2 lakh lives in the country.