Launching the second edition of the Jagananna Amma Vodi scheme, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that from the next edition of Amma Vodi, mothers of children pursuing Class 9 to 12 can opt for a laptop with a high-end configuration instead of monetary benefit under the scheme.

The government will communicate with all eligible mothers to know their decision on opting for cash or laptops.

CM Jagan Reddy himself wrote a letter to the mothers on Wednesday to know their wishes. The Department of Education has directed the Regional Education Officers and District Education Officers of the School Education Department to provide this letter copy to all the mothers of students in grades 9–12 and inform the government of their wishes.

The letter written by the CM should be printed by DCEBs by April 10th. Mandal education officer must submit it to public and private high school principals and college principals by April 15, depending on the number of students.

Principals of public and private schools and college principals should meet with students in classes 9–12 on April 19 to explain the contents of the CM’s letter. Students should take the letter home and show it to their mothers or guardians and write their choice in the letter. The letter must be returned to headteachers and principals by April 22.

The principals and head teachers are required to submit the content of the acceptance letter provided by the students on the ‘Amma Vodi’ website by April 26. Those consent forms must then be kept in school and college records.

Here is CM Ys Jagan Mohan Reddy’s letter to the parents:

“I am writing this letter with a heartfelt greeting to every sister who has received and will receive financial assistance through the ‘Jagannanna Amma Vodi’ scheme.

I hope that the hardships will be alleviated to some extent and your dreams will come true if the poor mothers in our state provide financial assistance directly from the government to educate their children. That is why I have promised to start and support the ‘Amma Vodi’ scheme as part of the Navratnas. You know that for the last two years, Rs 15,000 has been transferred directly to the account of the mothers of deserving and studying students from class 1 to class 12 without any hindrance. The scheme has attracted the attention of everyone not only in the history of the state but also in the country.

While the lap of a mother is Sri Rama raksha for every new born child, the ‘Amma Vodi’ scheme is similar to Sri Rama raksha for student in the state. Apart from Amma Vodi, you are also aware of the fact that innovative schemes like ‘Jagannanna Gorumudda’, ‘Manabadi Nadu – Nedu’ and ‘Jagannanna Vidya Kanuka’ are revolutionizing the field of education to change every poor child in the state.

However, in times like the Covid-19 pandemic, if private schools and colleges run classes online, we are all seeing poor children in public schools dropping out of school. To change this situation, we have decided to give laptops instead of cash to students studying from 9th to 12th class from next year with the intention that this generation of children should not stay away from the use of English medium and computers.

In addition, we are providing internet access to every village. The world will advance more in the next Ten years. I am making this suggestion to you as an uncle to your children with the responsibility not to be left behind by these children in the changing world.

Branded laptops come with dual core (equivalent processor), 4GB RAM, 500GB hard disk, 14-inch screen, Windows 10 (STF), Microsoft Office and with a warranty of 3 years. Replacement or repair will be done by the concerned company through the village secretariat within 7 days if required. Special software (mobile device management) is installed to prevent malicious / harmful websites and their effects on children. As more and more laptops are being bought, the branded laptop, which is priced at around Rs 25,000 to Rs 27,000 in the market, is being offered for just Rs 18,500.

With these branded laptops your kids can do the following things:
Can listen classes online
Can watch educational videos online or offline.
Can use the e-Books
Find a wealth of information on studying on the Internet.
Can use E-mail services
Project work can be done with applications like Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint presentation.

So, if your child wants a laptop instead of cash in the ‘Amma Vodi’ scheme, I request your consent to be communicated through the principals.”

– Yours sincerely YS Jagan (YS Jagan Mohan Reddy) Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh.