1,700 meritorious students receive scholarships from KZCT

Mangalore, December 11: As many as 1,700 boys and girls from across coastal Karnataka benefitted from the unprecedented educational scholarship distribution programme organised by the Karnataka Zakath and Charitable Trust, an affiliate of Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust, at Loyala Hall in St. Aloysius College here on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion, Ghiasuddin Babukhan, pioneer and Chairman of HZCT, called upon the students to give utmost priority to the education.

Commending the educational scenario of Coastal districts of Karnataka, especially when compared to North Karnataka, Mr Babukhan said that what impresses him most about the education picture of Dakshina Kannada district is the focus on religious education alongside secular education.

He encouraged students to follow Islamic teachings alongside their formal curriculums in order to attain an all-round development of the mind and soul. He also emphasised on the fact that students, who are being helped today by the Trust should help back the Trust to continue its good work once they become established in future. But he reminded the students that when they come forward to help others they should not limit themselves to religious and communal boundaries. The Trust has been established to help talented but needy students transcending all boundaries of religion and this tradition should be maintained in future as well, he said.

Advising the students to mingle and interact with their peers and counterparts from other communities, he said, through such intercommunity interactions students can expand their boundaries of knowledge.

He also emphasised the need for students of Dakshina Kannada to improve their communication skills especially their English language skills. He suggested reading of the daily newspaper and watching informative English channels on television. These would help the students to improve their knowledge and communication skills and help them prepare for a better tomorrow, he added.

He informed that the total number of scholarship recipients in the state of Karnataka from the Trust has doubled this year to 6000 students from last year's count of 3000.

Khalil Ahmad, founder of KZCT rendered some very motivating word to the hundreds of students gathered at the function. He appreciated the fact that the majority of students present today were girls. He also pointed out that the number girl students receiving scholarship from the Trust had gone up from last year's count.

Acknowledging that while on the one hand this reflects the positive trend in women's education field in the district, he also expressed concern that if the trend of education among boys keeps deteriorating at this rate it will lead to social imbalances in the future, like problems in getting eligible men for marrying educated girls.

He therefore encouraged the boys and girls to inspire their brothers and friends to focus on education and come up at equal levels with the girls. He said that the problems which stand in the way of the Muslim community's development today across India are their lack of education and poverty.

However, he said, these problems are not just because of lack of infrastructural help provided by the government, but, also because of a pessimistic mind set prevalent among the Muslims themselves. “Instead of just blaming the government and others for their backwardness, Muslims should give up this pessimism and come forward and make the most of the opportunities available to them”, he said.

He cited several examples from the political, economic and social spheres of India to show how members from the minority communities in India have been able to make it big in their life through merit.

Mr Khaleel reminded students repeatedly that India provides equal rights to all its citizens and it is up to them to come out of their incredulous mind set and make the most of their rights and opportunities. He also encouraged students to focus more on scientific education and said that Islam as a religion also supports scientific thinking.

Syed Mohammad Beary, noted educationist and social activist, in his address emphasised on the importance on discipline and time management for students to achieve success in their life. He said that the most important tool available to the students to inculcate discipline and time management is through prayer.

Mr. Beary also said that in order to bring about real social change what we need today is more number of teachers. “So students should enter the teaching profession in more numbers and help change the lives of several others”, he suggested.

The Trust gave special felicitation to students who scored more than 90 per cent marks, by giving them medals and certificates of appreciation. All the students came from very humble family backgrounds.

In order to encourage these meritorious students to continue their achievement the Trust announced that along with their annual scholarship amount these students with above 90 per cent marks would be given an extra amount of Rs. 10,000 each. They also inspired the other students present in the auditorium to follow the examples of their friends and work harder.

On the same occasion The HZCT announced its upcoming project, i.e. the ‘Institute for Excellence'. The institute, which is tentatively scheduled to start from June 2013, will choose the most meritorious students between class VIII to class XII, from all parts of India through a countrywide talent search programme and provide them the best education facilities free of cost.

After the inaugural session the process of interviewing and approving of scholarships to the students began. The entire process was volunteered by members of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, women volunteers of Jamaat's women wing, and members of other city based organisations like Hidayah Foundation.

The scholarship amount varied from a minimum of 3000/- to 22000/- depending on the beneficiaries' family background and the course they were enrolled in. Students from the PUC level to post-graduate level were given scholarships amounting to their annual course fees.

The Trust gives more concern and care to students who are orphans or physically handicapped, by increasing their scholarship amounts and also lowering their percentage requirements. The trust had also arranged for a free lunch packet for all the awardees and their conveyance costs to Mangalore were also taken care of.

During the interview process of beneficiaries, it was interesting to see how volunteers were also giving words of advice to the students on their future careers as well as on all round development as good human beings.

In this whole daylong event, 1700 students were not just provided with financial aid to continue education but were also given inspiration to become the ‘best tomorrow' of our nation.

It was the second scholarship distribution programme by KZCT in city. As many as 1,200 students had received similar scholarships on January 1, 2011.

The total amount of scholarship money which is being donated by the KZCT this time amounts approximately to a sum of Rs 2.5 crores and covers students from 13 districts of Karnataka including Bijapur, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada.