THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vidyadhan, a sponsorship initiative under the Sarojini Damodaran Foundation for higher education of economically-backward children who are academically brilliant, will be expanded to 15 states in India this year. Vidyadhan is a charitable initiative run by Kumari Shibulal and S D Shibulal under the supervision of the Shibulal family to provide financial assistance, guidance and skill training to needy students for higher education. Currently, three more states – Bihar, Jharkhand and Punjab – have been included. With this, the work of Vidyadhan will be spread all over India.
Since Vidyadhan’s inception in 1999, the initiative has been able to equip many students for better careers. About 40,000 applications were received for the 1,600 newly awarded scholarships this year. The number of applications is expected to increase further as the scholarship process is not over in many states. Vidyadhan brings sponsors and students into a transparent and accountable system with the motto ‘Each One Teach One’. One such successful partnership is the agreement with UST, a digital transformation solutions company that has doubled its contribution to support more students by covering more states.
An opportunity has also been provided for those who aim for social welfare to participate in the Vidyadhan scholarship. Based on this, a memorandum of understanding has been signed to double the scholarship budget this year as part of UST education. From time to time, UST and Vidyadhan have been working hand in hand to implement many schemes for academically bright children from financially-backward families.
Participants and beneficiaries of the project shared their proud experiences in a one-day event organised at O by Tamara Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. Many of the brilliant students who have completed their education through Vidyadhan scholarship are employed in TCS, Infosys, HCL, UST, Bosch, KPMG, MRF, UNISYS, MBB Labs, government institutions, defense forces and many others.
Many students have also went on to pursue higher education and research from reputed universities. The girls who complete their education through the scholarship become self-employed and thereby, set an example for the society as the breadwinner of the family. Through the scholarship, girls are able to break the traditional view against girls getting education.
Girls to set example
The girls who complete their education through the scholarship become self-employed and thereby, set an example for the society as the breadwinner of the family. Also, it will break the traditional view against girls getting education.