HYDERABAD: ‘Mission 1,000,’ an initiative started by professors, research scholars and PG students of Osmania University to get 1,000 students from indigenous communities in Telangana enrolled in colleges in the city, has started gaining momentum. A total of 30 tribal students have got admission to degree and PG colleges through the first phase of counselling, which was recently concluded.
Though the pandemic had posed a challenge to identify and empower indigenous students who had been confined to the forests, 30 students made it to various degree colleges in the twin-cities during the first phase of admissions and more students are expected to appear for the second and third phases of counselling in the weeks to come.
“We had this idea back in 2018 and we tried to identify students by going to villages in Asifabad, Bhadrachalam, Khammam and Adilabad. We also toured tribal welfare colleges. Then we approached some tribal students studying in Delhi University, IIT-Madras and other reputed institutions. We discussed the need to reach out to students who were otherwise dropping out of studies after intermediate education,” said C Kishore Kumar, assistant professor in the department of mathematics, OU, who hails from the Bhadrachalam agency area.
As part of the effort, tribal students were extended all support to apply for science and arts programmes in various colleges. “Lack of awareness on higher education among students, coupled with the kind of attachment tribals have with their forest habitats and lack of finances have been preventing them from coming to Hyderabad to study. Till five years ago, there were just one or two research scholars in OU, but presently there are 16 in the university. We want this positive trend to continue,” Kumar told Express.
Government employees who are from tribal communities are also extending financial help to students. As a result of this, one student is currently undergoing coaching for civil services while two students who gained admission to prestigious institutions like IIT Madras have been provided laptops.
“There was a time when the hostels for tribal students in Adikmet and Saroornagar used to be vacant with no enrolment. Through this initiative, we want to bring all students in one hostel, so that we can provide them all the support possible and they can prosper in their lives,” says Kumar.