VKSSF disburses Rs 3.56 crore as scholarship

Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund (VKSSF) disbursed Rs 3,56,04,000 as Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship to 3,875 students here on Friday.

Addressing reporters, VKSSF president Ramadas Kamath U said Rs 1,90,50,000 has been provided to engineering students, Rs 24,40,000  to MBBS students and Rs 24,00,000 has been given towards study aborad programme.

This apart, Rs 15,00,000 has been provided to degree students from Kerala, 65,00,000 has been provided to the students Kudubi and Kharvi communities, pursuing  PU and degree education, Rs 5,14,000 towards Konkani Learners’ Scholarship, Rs 7,00,000 towards CA Scholarship, Rs 15,00,000 towards Masters Degree Scholarship, Rs 10,00,000 towards Vidya Poshak Scholarship and Rs 5,00,000 towards other scholarships, Kamath said.

He added that 11.64 crore has been given out as scholarship to 11,585 students since 2010. Sixteen training programmes and 104 camps have been conducted involving a total of 5,409 trainees and 18,112 human days of training, he added.

IT policy for Kannadigas

Manipal Global Education chairman and Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship patron T V Mohandas Pai said the state government should create more opportunities for Kannadigas in the IT industry.

He said only seven lakh employees are Kannadigas among the 15 lakh IT workers in Bengaluru and the rest are from other states. Pai felt that the state government should frame a new IT policy to ensure maximum opportunities for Kannadigas in the IT industry of the state.

“Also, most of the IT industries are concentrated in Bengaluru and the youths from Mangaluru are migrating to Bengaluru and later to the US. This way, Mangaluru will be a second Kolkata in the next few years where only old people live. Hence, prominence needs to be given towards investing in the IT industry in Mangaluru,” Pai said.

Speaking at the press meet, Akhila Bharatha Konkani Kharvi Mahasabha president K B Kharvi said around thirty students from the Kharvi community are pursuing their education with the assistance by VKSSF.

Karnataka State Kudubi Samaja Sangha President Narayana Kharvi said 33 students are pursuing engineering studies and one girl has joined MBBS this year thanks to the VKSSF’s initiatives.