THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hundred top scorers in Plus-II science subjects across Kerala, who chose to pursue B Sc or integrated M Sc courses, were to be presented with Prathibha Scholarship instituted by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KCSTE) on Wednesday.
Apoorva Gopinath sat cracking her knuckles, waiting for the function to begin, looking more tense than perhaps she would have been on her exam days for she would be the first to go up on the dais to receive her scholarship from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. She was one of the five students who had scored hundred per cent in all science subjects.
“Though I had written entrance exams for professional courses, I wanted to pursue research in science. So I enrolled for B Sc Zoology at Farook College, Calicut,” she said. Aparna was also one of the 84 girls to win the scholarship. K Muraleedharan MLA, quipped that even though 50 of the 100 scholarships were reserved for girls, it looked as if it were the boys who needed reservation.
Inaugurating the function, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that while the number of girls scoring high in science subjects is huge in Class XII, the number of women in research is not as high. He commented that the Back to Lab project, which was devised to bring back women to scientific research after a break, was getting positive feedback. The scholarship would be Rs 12,000, Rs 18,000 and Rs 24,000 in the first, second and third year of the degree course. The best performers among the scholars, who wish to pursue M Sc, would be supported with another Rs 40,000 and Rs 60,000, in the first and second year of M Sc.
