From a college in the heart of Assam's eastern belt, a message of gratitude is travelling all the way to the Chief Minister's chair — and it carries the weight of a policy that is quietly reshaping who gets to pursue higher education in the state. Students of Jonai Girls' College have publicly thanked Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for the financial support extended to them under the Nijut Moina Scheme, the Assam government's targeted assistance programme for girl students.

What the Nijut Moina Scheme means for girl students in Assam

The Nijut Moina Scheme — its name evoking affection for daughters — is designed to lower the financial barriers that push girls out of higher education in Assam. The Assam government, under CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, who took office in 2021, has positioned the scheme as a cornerstone of its women's empowerment agenda, directing financial assistance specifically toward college-going girls across the state.

Jonai, located in Assam's Dhemaji district, is a region where access to quality higher education — particularly for girls — has historically been constrained by geography and economics. The voices from Jonai Girls' College are not ceremonial. They reflect a constituency the scheme was explicitly built for.

Assam's push to close the gender gap in college enrollment

The Nijut Moina Scheme sits within a deliberate pattern of education-linked welfare measures the Assam government has pursued in recent years. The state has consistently flagged gender disparity in higher education enrollment as a governance priority, using direct financial support as the lever. The approach — money in hand, barriers reduced — is straightforward by design.

The broader aim: keep more girls in classrooms past school-leaving age, when dropout rates tend to spike and economic pressure on families peaks. Targeted schemes of this kind have precedent in several Indian states, but Assam's version draws attention for its reach into colleges in geographically remote areas like Jonai.

What comes next for the scheme's rollout

The gratitude expressed by students at Jonai Girls' College lands in the public domain at a moment when the Nijut Moina Scheme's footprint — how many colleges it has reached, how many beneficiaries it has served — is still a live question. Further rollout to additional institutions and official data on enrollment impact will be the real measure of the scheme's ambition meeting its outcomes.

For now, a group of girl students in eastern Assam has made their verdict clear. That is the kind of ground-level signal that no policy report manufactures.