A total of 304 students pursuing ITI course in various institutions received scholarships worth `5 lakh from the Sri Vidyasagar Educational Trust in the city on Sunday.
According to Iravatham Mahadevan, the chairman and managing trustee, the number of students selected and awarded scholarships during the current year, is by and far the highest. “We have been able to accommodate more than 300 students from 19 ITIs and have awarded scholarships worth more than `5 lakh. This has been possible with donations from those who instituted endowments and other donors,” he added.
This year, he said, the Trust was facing a major turning point in its scholarship programmes due to the recent announcement of the Government of Tamil Nadu to extend full scholarships to all ITI students in the State. The scheme is expected to be fully operational from next year, he said, adding that in that eventuality, the offer of much smaller scholarships by the Trust would become redundant.
According to a statement, the trustees have decided to explore other avenues of providing educational scholarships to disadvantaged students like those in orphanages and also to those physically or mentally challenged and being trained at special institutions.
“We shall decide on the future course of the scholarship schemes in consultation with the endowment donors and other well-wishers,” it said.
The scholarship schemes are open to students of engineering or vocational courses in recognized industrial training institutes in Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts. Income certificates are not insisted upon as ITI students are generally from the poorer sections and cannot afford the fees charged by engineering colleges and polytechnics, the statement added.
Earlier, K R A Narasiah, renowned author and retired Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Vizag Port Trust, spoke on the occasion.
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