VKSSF merit-cum-means scholarships to be distributed on August 20

MANGALURU: Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund, established by World Konkani Centre, Mangaluru will award merit-cum-means scholarships worth Rs 3.5 crore to students from Konkani communities here on Thursday. Incidentally, the day is commemorated for inclusion of Konkani Language in Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution. Principal Patron of the Scholarship T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education will deliver the keynote address. The VKSSF envisages grant of merit-cum-means scholarship for students having Konkani language as their mother tongue. Instituted by World Konkani Centre in 2010 as envisioned by the Mohandas Pai, VKSSF has since then successfully raised and distributed over 8,000 scholarships to the tune of Rs 8 crore. Eminent Konkani philanthropists including Dr Ranjan Pai, P Dayanand Pai, K V Kamath, Ronald Colaco, have come forward in support of this fund. VKSSF presently has several scholarship programmes, the flagship programme being engineering and MBBS scholarship programme with a scholarship amount of Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000/year per student respectively. VKSSF has awarded 2097 engineering and MBBS scholarships since 2010. This year too VKSSF will support the professional education quest of 602 engineering and 30 MBBS scholars. Ramdas Kamath U, chairman, VKSSF stated in a release. VKSSF has a study abroad scholarship for higher education abroad, with scholarship amount of Rs 1 lakh/year per student. VKSSF since 2010 has awarded six scholarships under this programme and will award five scholarships under this category this year too. To widen the scope of scholarship fund, VKSSF in 2012 initiated a new scheme to empower Kudubi/kharvi communities. Under this, VKSSF awards PUC/degree scholarship of Rs 2500/Rs 5000 respectively. Through the KSHAMATA programme, VKSSF has comes up with a development model for all scholarship participants to accomplish and achieve as an end result not only their personal growth, but also leadership development, and a greater appreciation for global society in general, and Konkani society in particular. Ramdas Kamath stated. Over the last five years KSHAMATA Academy has imparted 12,000 mandays of training in various formats, he added. -TOI