MADURAI: Girl students studying in city corporation schools will be provided free sanitary napkins from the next academic year. The corporation will be installing vending machines in select schools to dispense the sanitary napkins. Corporation commissioner, R Nanthagopal in a statement announced that the scheme will be implemented in 16 high and higher secondary schools under the corporation management and the scheme will benefit 10,497 girl students studying in these schools. The scheme will help the girl students on the sanitation front and the corporation will utilise the education funds of the corporation for this purpose.

"We will start implementing the scheme from the next academic year onwards as the schools are being closed for the summer vacation. During the vacation, we will carry out installation of the vending machines in all 16 schools so that the dispensing can start once the students return to schools after summer vacation for the academic year," he said.

Further, the corporation is also initiating measures to promote sports and reading habit among the students of corporation schools. The corporation will be giving away sports equipment to all 66 schools functioning under the corporation management and 24 high and higher secondary schools among them will get library books to enhance the reading habit among the students, Nanthagopal added.