To help more students from the district get admission to Central Universities, the district panchayat in Malappuram has launched an ambitious programme called WINGS (Win and Integration of New Goals of Students) Malappuram. District panchayat president MK Rafeeka announced the launch of the programme at a press meet held here on Monday, April 11. 

Under the WINGS programme, the district panchayat will give training to 1,000 students, who complete higher secondary examinations this year, to crack Common Universities Entrance Test (CUET). Around 1.25 lakh undergraduate seats are available in 54 central universities across the country. Admissions to these universities are through CUET. This year, around 50 lakh students are likely to take the entrance test. 

Under the WINGS Malappuram programme, ten centres will be set up in the district to give training to 1,000 students. The centres will train 100 students each, Rafeeka said. The district panchayat has allocated Rs 10 lakh for the programme. The panchayat will invite applications from students to join the programme. If more than 1,000 students apply for the training programme, the district panchayat will conduct a test to shortlist eligible persons for the coaching. 

The facilities available in schools will be used to impart training. The training will begin in the second week of May. Special training will be given to students from SC/ST categories. "This is the first time a district panchayat is providing such a large-scale training programme for CUET," Rafeeka added. District panchayat vice-president Ismail Moothedam was present at the press meet. CUET exams will be held in July.