Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayaraddi said, “The main objective of the scheme is to equip students to face competitive examinations with confidence and without stress. Children of farmers and those from rural areas should not be deprived of opportunities to appear for competitive examinations. The Higher Education Department is implementing this scheme free of cost with the aim of helping them secure government jobs.”
“The scheme is being implemented at a total cost of ₹9 crore for around 90,000 candidates, and each candidate will be provided three months of free online coaching through a selected coaching institute,” he added.
Free online coaching will be provided for various competitive examinations, including SDA, FDA, PDO, PSI and Gazetted Probationers (GP). Eligible candidates can receive coaching for a maximum of three examinations.
The training will include an online Learning Management System (LMS), study material, online classes and a doubt-clearing facility. Recorded classes, session-wise multiple-choice questions, mock tests, previous years’ question papers and question banks will also be provided.
Eligible candidates can apply online through the Seva Sindhu website and Grama One centres. Candidates will receive a unique ID upon registration and can access the portal using a one-time password sent to their mobile phones. The system will also track attendance, participation, test performance and progress. A consolidated report has to be submitted to the department every 15 days.
The coaching will cover general studies subjects such as history, geography, Indian economy and polity, science and environment, logical reasoning, data interpretation, current affairs, Kannada and English language skills, and digital literacy. Exam-specific subjects and communication papers will also be covered. General studies will be common to all competitive examination preparations.
7.5% reservation for rural children
Mr. Rayaraddi also announced that the State government has decided to provide 7.5% reservation in higher education for students who studied in government schools and colleges in rural areas from Class 1 to 12.“Already, 15% reservation has been provided for students from rural areas in higher education, including admission to professional courses. However, students who studied in private educational institutions are also availing themselves of this benefit. As a result, poor students studying in government schools and colleges in rural areas are being deprived of opportunities. Realising this, the State government has taken steps to bifurcate this reservation and provide 7.5% reservation to candidates who studied in government schools and colleges in rural areas,” he added.
He further said that the reservation would provide greater opportunities for students to study in good medical and engineering colleges, and that children of farmers and those from middle- and lower-middle-class families in rural areas would benefit.