Mangalore, Sep 2: Students from Konkani communities received scholarships worth Rs 2.5 crores from the Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund (VKSSF), established by World Konkani Centre, Mangalore in an award ceremony held at T V Raman Pai Convention Hall, Kodialbail here on Monday.
The scholarships were awarded by Minister for Higher Education and Tourism R V Deshpande, who also inaugurated the award ceremony. As many as 596 engineering and 28 MBBS students were supported by the scholarship programme.
Speaking after awarding the scholarships, Mr Deshpande said that the economy of the entire world revolved around education in the current century. Good health and knowledge are two things that one ought to struggle for, without which one cannot succeed,” he said.
He said that the global economy was in a bad shape today and India could not grow in isolation. However, this phase will soon pass away, as the future of India is bright especially for youth, he said, advising the youth to inculcate good character and qualities.
No students are as intelligent as Indian students in the world. The best thing that the government should do is interfere less in educational activities and only lend support to the sector. In this regard, the government is supporting innovation, granting autonomy to colleges and so on, he said.
Principal patron of the scholarship programme T V Mohandas Pai said that education, the main wealth of our nation, created human capital and it was important to invest in this wealth. “Education is the means to finding solutions to your problems. Students should excel intellectually and inculcate a problem-solving attitude,” he said.
“No child should be deprived of higher education for want of meals, as these children are the future of the society. What kind of a society are we building if our children are starving,” he said, urging the higher education minister to concentrate on this aspect.
Speaking on the importance of soft-skills in the corporate world, he told the students, “Skills are more important than scholarships. Develop curiosity if you want to succeed. Knowledge is getting out-dated and therefore you need to be up-to-date, more skilled and innovative. The skills you learn today should last for the next 40 years,” he said, encouraging them to become entrepreneurs and not just job-seekers.
Mangalore South MLA J R Lobo also spoke on the occasion. President of World Konkani Centre Basti Vaman Shenoy delivered the presidential address.
On the occasion, beneficiaries of the scholarship programme which began in 2010, Lenita Menezes and Raghavendra Bhandarkar shared their experiences on the programme.
VKSSF chairman Ramdas Kamath U delivered the welcome address. Secretary of World Konkani Centre Venkatesh N Baliga compered the programme.
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