VIT distributed scholarships worth over ₹100 crore for government school students since 2008: VIT Chancellor

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has distributed scholarships worth ₹102 crore to government school students under its flagship program titled Supporting the Development of Rural Students (STARS) program since its inception in 2008, VIT founder and Chancellor G. Viswanathan said on Sunday.

In his presidential address at the STARS Day celebration event organized by VIT at its campus here, Mr. Viswanathan said the program aims to support high-achieving students from rural government schools who have scored excellent marks in higher secondary examinations but lack the financial means to pursue further education. “So far, 1,147 students have benefited from the programme. VIT has covered their entire tuition, accommodation and food expenses, amounting to ₹102 million,” he said.

Scandinavian countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland have made significant progress thanks to their strong education systems and solid social welfare models. He said that a democratic country like India can learn valuable lessons from development strategies that can help in the overall growth of the country.

KR Nagarajan, founder and Chairman of Ramraj Group, J. Kavitha, a former STARS expert and currently serving as Special Deputy Collector of Theni, Sankar Viswanathan and Sekar Viswanathan, vice-presidents of VIT, were present on the occasion.