HYDERABAD: Not too long ago, travelling outside the State seemed like a far-fetched dream for V Kavya, who is the daughter of a daily wage worker, but she will soon travel to the United Kingdom on the State government’s penny.
She — along with 14 other girls studying in the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS), Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Society (TTWREIS) and government degree colleges in the State — will be travelling to the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom (UK) on a State government scholarship for a two-week residential certificate course.
The British Council and Telangana government announced a residential short-term certificate course in the UK for 15 meritorious students from the State under the Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate Talent (SCOUT) programme on Saturday. The programme will be funded by the GREAT campaign of the British Council, which will cover the course fees, accommodation and other expenses for the students while in the UK. The government is funding the travel and visa costs for all students and faculty.
As a part of this initiative, 15 undergraduate-level students along with two faculty members from Telangana will be hosted at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in March and April for a two-week short-term certified course on ‘How to be More Rational: Critical Thinking, Logic and Reasoning’. The course will help in developing the academic and research skills of the students. The activity will also enable students to impact their own local community, institutions and future workplaces through their learning.
Addressing the media, Navin Mittal, Commissioner of Collegiate, Technical & Intermediate Education said even though the scholarship was open to all students, it was a coincidence that all selected applicants were girls. “These students have secured more than 9 CGPA in their first-year semester exam and are extremely talented among all the college students,” he added. Mittal added that the programme will continue from now and 10-15 students will be selected each year. A British Council panel will have the liberty to choose a new university each year.
“The State of Telangana and the UK together have been working on various initiatives in education. The British Council is delighted to work with the State government towards accelerating the creation of mutually beneficial programmes which in turn helps in achieving the State’s knowledge goals. With this collaboration, our aim is to provide a platform to students to gain global exposure and a networking opportunity while enhancing their skills and knowledge in a globally renowned university,” said Janaka Pushpanathan, director of the south India region, British Council.