Ravi Pillai academic scholarship will pave the way for academic development: CM

“Dr. Ravi Pillai Academic Excellence Scholarship” will provide wide opportunities for academic achievements, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a function for distribution of the scholarships at Nishangandhi auditorium here on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said today the education sector in Kerala was a model for the country. However, the State had a dark phase where the education right was denied to many. The struggles by social reformers and national, progressive, and political movements led to the formation of a united Kerala in which the first government led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad scrapped fee to make education free up to upper primary. The second EMS government made secondary education free too. Government interventions in the higher education sector also paved the way for development of education in the State. Continuing these efforts, the government decided to make education free up to the graduate level, the Chief Minister said.

He urged students to be vigilant against attempts to promote caste-religious enmity. Students should retain their humanity to work for the good of society. They must resist drugs and pledge not to engage in substance abuse, he said.

First phase

In the first phase, scholarships to the tune of ₹10 crore will be distributed to 1,501 students. An amount of ₹525 crore for the next 50 years had been set aside for the scheme, being implemented by industrialist Ravi Pillai as part of social responsibility.

The Chief Minister noted that though Mr. Pillai was a prominent name globally, the scholarship scheme for students was a testimony to his ties with the State. The scholarships would help students from economically weak backgrounds to reach for higher education opportunities, he said.

The scholarship will be given by the Dr.Ravi Pillai Foundation in association with NoRKA Roots to students from secondary school level to professional colleges. At the higher secondary level, 1,100 students will get ₹50,000 each. As many as 200 undergraduate students will get ₹1 lakh each, and 200 postgraduate students will get ₹1.25 lakh each.