The Hindu : Front Page : Where scholarships make the difference

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 09, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Where scholarships make the difference

Staff Reporter

Funding higher education can transform underprivileged students into achievers Shiv Nadar started the scholarships scheme as he had been a beneficiary while at PSG College of Technology

R. Senthilnathan

CHENNAI : R. Senthilnathan worked as a night watchman in the first year of his engineering course. Today, he is a security analyst at Wipro Technologies in Bangalore.

Senthil, as he is called, is one of the many success stories to prove that scholarships for higher education can transform underprivileged students into brilliant achievers.

When the management of his alma mater, SSN College of Engineering, found that Senthil was working nights to pay fees, they offered to fund his studies.

"I used to catch up on sleep during the lunch break," says Senthil. It came as a relief when he could focus fully on studies and shift to the college hostel from the government youth hostel. The college also offered part-time work in the library so that he could earn "spending money". Senthil now sponsors the engineering studies of a girl in his hometown Theni.

There are more such stories. M. Saravanakumar, whose parents worked as dhobis in Tondiarpet, completed his course with the help of a scholarship. He is now placed in L & T Infotech.

P. Rajeswari, an auto-driver's daughter, is now a trainee at HCL Technologies. Jayaprakash, a biscuit salesman's son, has joined Infosys.

Kala Vijayakumar, president of SSN Institutions, said the college believed that no deserving student should lose out on higher education simply because of financial reasons. She said that Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL and SSN Institutions, started the scholarships scheme as he had been supported by one when he was in PSG College of Technology in 1964.

"Not only are the fees waived, we also give the students about Rs. 15,000 as living expenses. Part scholarships are also given," Ms. Vijayakumar said.

The college will disburse Rs. 4 crore as scholarships this academic year.

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