www.scholarships.net.in

Organisation :Isha Vidhya Tamil Nadu
Facility : Isha Vidhya Scholarship Program

Home Page :http://www.ishavidhya.org/
Get more details here :http://www.ishavidhya.org/scholarship-program/why-scholarships.html

Scholarship Program :
Isha Vidhya provides high quality education at very low costs. However, even minimal fees are unaffordable for many rural families. With parents engaged in entry level positions and working as laborers, carpenters, field workers, construction workers, and street vendors, income is inconsistent and varies based on the season and demand for employment. Even with two wage earners in the family, income is often insufficient for meeting basic household and dietary requirements. Even minimal school fees strain already limited budgets, forcing families to cut expenditures in other areas such as food, medicine and clothing.

The reality of this situation necessitated the development of a scholarship program. Isha Vidhya’s scholarships/sponsorships are entirely need-based.

There are four options available to a donor :
1) Full educational support (Rs.20,000 / $480 / £300 per year) covers tuition, books, note-books, nutritional health supplement, noon-meal, transport and uniform.
2) Scholarship program (Rs.10,000 / $240 / £150 per year) which covers tuition, books, note-books and health supplement.
3) Transport Subsidy (Rs.5,250 / $126 / £79 per year)
4) Noon-meal Subsidy (Rs.3,000 / $72 / £45 per year)

The scholarships represent a truly life-changing opportunity for many of our students. However, the number of students in need of scholarship assistance currently outstrips our supply of funds, which is limited to the amount of donations received. In order to ensure that our scholarships are distributed to the families most in need, a comprehensive scholarship allocation process is followed. It is our goal to make this process completely transparent to our donors.

Allocation Process :
Each Isha Vidhya school has a Scholarship Committee which oversees the scholarship distribution process. The committee comprises the school principal, an Isha Vidhya board member, a school parent whose child is not applying for a scholarship, and an independent community member interested in the well-being of the school.

Scholarship applications in the local language are provided to all students. Families seeking financial assistance submit the application with detailed information regarding household members, monthly household income, employment history and assets (e.g. television, refrigerator, motor bike etc.). Primary focus is given to the economic situation of the family – only families with a total household income below the parameters set by the Isha Vidhya management are considered for scholarships. The income parameters, which for the 2007-2008 academic year were set at 5000 – 7000 Rs. (approximately $125 – $175), are reevaluated every year. Exceptions to this income limit are made in rare cases.

In addition, home visits are made to each of the applicant families to gather further insight into their economic and social resources. Factors not easily revealed through a formal application are ascertained through the home visits, such as the condition of the house, prominence of the neighborhood, support given to or received by joint family members, and side sources of income (e.g. selling cow’s milk).

Based on the applications, home visits and the committee’s recommendations, Isha Vidhya management determines which of the families are most in need of assistance and distributes scholarships accordingly. Scholarships are initially made available to only one child per family. In extreme cases of need, consideration is given to awarding additional scholarships to children within the same family. Families are notified that their child has received a scholarship, but scholarship funds are given directly to the school on the behalf of the child.