Wellfare Through Investing in Mothers of School Students: Why Andhra Pradesh's Quiet Experiment in Educational Socialism Could be a Model for India
Every year, as a new academic session begins, the Andhra Pradesh government deposits ₹15,000 into the bank account of the mother of every eligible school-going child under its flagship education support programme, Thalliki Vandanam . The assistance is intended to help families meet the recurring costs of education—uniforms, shoes, textbooks, notebooks, school bags, transport, examination fees and other expenses that often force poor households to borrow or even withdraw children from school. Unlike many welfare schemes that restrict benefits to one child in a family, Thalliki Vandanam extends support for every eligible child studying from Class I to Class XII in recognised government, aided and private schools. This year alone, the programme is expected to benefit ...