New Delhi: Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged the government to provide free education to children, who lost either both parents or an earning parent to COVID-19.
“Amidst the devastation caused by the pandemic and the heart-wrenching tragedies being faced by affected families news of young children losing one or both parents to COVID-19 are the most poignant. These children are left with the trauma of loss and no support towards a stable education or future,” the letter said.
“I am writing to request you to consider providing free education at the Navodaya Vidhyalayas to children who have lost either both parents or an earning parent on account of the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote Sonia.
“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,”Congress leader added.
Sonia recalls Rajiv Gandhi’s vision of Navodaya Vidyalayas
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.
