Following is an excerpt from a report on this in topnews.in.
At least 56 children with various mental-disabilities are taking vocational training at a special centre in Orissa’s Koraput to be self-reliant and prove wrong those who doubted their potential.
At the Manas Education and Vocational Training Centre for the Mentally Challenged, operated under the aegis of Koraput district administration since 2001, training is imparted to children between 6 to 18 years of age. …
The institute provides an opportunity to students to develop their hobbies besides attending the inmates for their mental and physical disorders. Student can learn stitching, candle making, spices packing, book-binding and other similar works.
Fourteen of the students at Manas, who had a harrowing time in their immediate society, now are earning a handsome amount of money.
"Here we stitch mosquito nets and sell them in markets. I will take it as a vocation. If I was in my village my life would have been ruined," said Dinesh Sarika, a student.
According to Bidyadhar Paramanik, Principal of Manas Education and Vocational Training Centre for the Mentally Challenged, the centre is facing financial constraint.
"We have started this school with the objective of looking after such mentally challenged children who are not usually accepted by the society. We gather these children from different villages and provide them with right health treatment and vocational training so as to make them self-sufficient,” Paramanik said.
“Although much is being done by this institution, it is facing financial constraints. The Centre provides 75 per cent funds for this school. The rest is borne by the district administration. We need at least Rs. 65,000 a year, but we get much less," he said.
October 26th, 2007
Following is an excerpt from an Economic Times report on this.
If you figure in the list of meritorious 1 lakh students, you will get Rs 1 lakh annually for pursuing university education in science stream and the amount may continue up to five years. The government is planning to institute scholarships to encourage education in science and technology. While modalities of selecting meritorious students are yet to be worked out, it is proposed that the future scientists would be caught young in the 12th class itself.
The financial assistance would be given to such students while pursuing BSc and MSc courses. “We have proposed to give adequate financial support to sufficient number of students to foster talent in scientific research. The government is considering to award 1 lakh scholarships of Rs 1 lakh each.
Meritorious students pursuing university education in science stream would be eligible for the award. The proposal is expected to be incorporated in the 11th Five-Year Plan, and expected to be announced in the forthcoming National Development Council (NDC) meeting,” a source in the government said.
It is understood that the proposed scholarship would be modelled on the line of INSPIRE programme mooted by the department of science & technology (DST).
INSPIRE stands for innovations in science pursuit for inspired research. The programme aims at reaching out to the young talent and help them to pursue their interest in science.
“It is also an intervention devised to redress low entry of students into science and technology streams,” a DST source said. After the programme would get a formal approval, the selection procedure for the meritorious students would be announced.
… It is expected that the budget allocation of scientific departments would be enhanced significantly in the 11th Plan. The plan allocation has been doubled from about Rs 12,000 crore in the 9th Plan to about Rs 25,000 crore in the 10 Plan and it is planned to increased it approximately four fold in the 11th Plan, official sources said.
October 26th, 2007
