Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday gifted Rs 5 lakh separately to Mudhol girl Ankita, who topped the SSLC exams this year.
Ankita, a student of Morarji Desai residential school in Mudhol of Bagalkot district, scored 625 out of 625 in the exams.
The chief minister and the deputy chief minister felicitated the girl in Bengaluru and handed over the cheque for Rs 5 lakh to her personally.
They also gave Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively, to Navneet from Mandya, who also studied at a Morarji Desai residential school in Mandya and shared the third position by scoring 623 out of 625.
Siddaramaiah promised to release Rs 1.5 crore for the upliftment of the two Morarji Desai schools from where the two toppers emerged.
Speaking after felicitating the children at his residence, Shivakumar said, “I was delighted and proud of students of government schools who secured first and third ranks. The students and teachers in our government schools are very capable.”
The deputy chief minister said that his aim was to develop government schools in rural areas for the benefit of students.
‘”We are planning to develop these schools using corporate social responsibility funds. As soon as the election code of conduct is lifted, we will call a meeting to discuss the initiative with corporates,” Shivakumar added.