Rajasthan Transport Voucher Scheme: Teachers to Verify School Distance Door-to-Door
Pawan Joshee··6 min read
In rural areas, the distance to school has always been a major obstacle for children, especially girls. Often, due to schools being far from the village, parents are unable to send their daughters for further education. To overcome this problem and promote girl child education in rural areas, important initiatives like the Transport Voucher Scheme and the Free Bicycle Distribution Scheme are being run by the Government of Rajasthan.
The main objective of these schemes is to increase school enrollment and ensure the retention of girls in rural areas. Recently, to ensure the smooth operation and increase transparency of this scheme, the government has made a major change in the rules. Now, the responsibility of finding out and verifying the actual distance from the students' homes to the school has been assigned to school teachers. In this article, we will learn in detail about this new system, eligibility rules, and the financial assistance provided.
What is the Transport Voucher Scheme and its Objective?
The Transport Voucher Scheme is a highly ambitious scheme of the Rajasthan Government, under which travel allowance is provided to students studying in government schools in rural areas whose homes are far from the school. The primary objective of this scheme is to help children from poor and rural backgrounds reach school without any financial hardship.
It is often observed that primary schools are easily available in villages, but for upper primary and secondary education, students have to travel to other villages or towns. Due to the expenses incurred in covering this distance, many children drop out of school. Through this scheme, the government provides a daily travel allowance to students based on their days of attendance in school, so that it does not put a financial burden on their parents.
Big Responsibility for Teachers: Door-to-Door Verification of Distance
To bring transparency to the benefits received under this scheme and to prevent any kind of discrepancy, the Rajasthan Council of School Education has taken a major step. Now, the practice of entering distances based on mere estimation while sitting in school has been completely abolished.
- Door-to-Door Verification: Now, class teachers will have to personally visit the homes of students to physically verify the actual distance from their residence to the school.
- Entry on Shala Darpan Portal: After verification, the accurate details of the distance will be uploaded online on the Shala Darpan Portal. Students will receive the benefits of the Transport Voucher Scheme based on this verified distance only.
- Responsibility of the School Head: If an incorrect distance is entered in any school without physical verification, or if an ineligible student is given the benefits of the scheme, the concerned School Head/Principal will be held directly responsible, and strict disciplinary action will be taken against them.
According to Shri Krishna Bishnoi, Additional District Project Coordinator (ADPC) of Samagra Shiksha, the entire responsibility of measuring the distance from the students' residence to the school will lie with the class teacher, and only after this will it be updated on the portal.
Rates of Travel Allowance Based on Distance and Eligibility
Under the Transport Voucher Scheme, students are given different amounts of financial assistance based on their class and the distance to school. This amount is not given as a lump sum, but is transferred directly to their bank accounts based on the actual days of attendance recorded in school.
The table below provides details of class-wise eligibility and the financial assistance provided:
| Class Group | Distance Criteria | Assistance Amount (Per Day of Attendance) | Key Conditions & Eligibility Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 to 5 | More than 1 km from residence | ₹10 | Students in rural areas who do not have a primary school within the periphery of their residence. |
| Class 6 to 8 | More than 3 km from residence | ₹15 | Students studying in government upper primary schools in rural areas. |
| Class 9 and 10 | More than 5 km from residence | ₹20 | Only girl students studying in government secondary, senior secondary, and Swami Vivekanand Model Schools. |
Key Point: This travel allowance will be payable only for the days the student is present in school. If a student is absent on any day, the allowance for that day will not be given.
Bicycle or Transport Voucher: Benefit of Only One Scheme Will Be Given
Two excellent schemes are being run by the government to facilitate education for girls - the Free Bicycle Distribution Scheme and the Transport Voucher Scheme. However, the government has clarified that no girl student can avail of the benefits of both these schemes simultaneously.
This rule is particularly important for girls of Class 9:
- Selection of One Scheme: Girls taking admission in Class 9 will have to choose only one of these two schemes.
- No Voucher if Bicycle is Received: Girls who have already been distributed free bicycles by the government will not be eligible to receive travel allowance under the Transport Voucher Scheme.
- Attendance-Based Payment: Girls availing of the transport voucher will be paid based on their daily attendance only, so that they are motivated to attend school regularly.
Strict Rules for Entering Distance on Shala Darpan Portal
The Rajasthan Council of School Education has issued strict instructions to the school heads of all government schools in the state. Under the new rules, negligence at any level will not be tolerated.
- Marking of Actual Distance: Teachers have been instructed to mark the exact distance based on Google Maps or the actual route.
- Preventing Ineligible Beneficiaries: The main objective of this verification process is to ensure that the government budget is utilized correctly and only needy and eligible students receive the benefits of this scheme.
- Time-bound Update on Portal: It has been made mandatory for all schools to update the data of all their eligible students on the Shala Darpan Portal within a specified time limit.
Impact of This Initiative on Rural Education and Girl Enrollment
This scheme and its strict verification rules are expected to significantly improve the standard of rural education.
- Increase in Enrollment: When parents realize that the government is bearing the travel expenses of sending their daughters to school, they do not hesitate to send girls for further studies.
- Reduction in Dropout Rate: Often, children in rural areas drop out of school after Class 5 and Class 8 due to distance. Through this scheme, this dropout rate can be controlled to a great extent.
- Promoting Regularity: Since the assistance amount is directly linked to school attendance, students are encouraged to attend school regularly.
Conclusion
The Transport Voucher Scheme of the Rajasthan Government is a commendable effort towards spreading the light of education in rural areas and making girls self-reliant. The new rule of physical verification of distance by teachers going door-to-door will bring transparency to this scheme and ensure its benefits reach the genuinely needy.
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