To further encourage students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) communities in Kerala, the state government has decided to further widen the scope of the Unnathi scholarship for overseas studies for postgraduate (PG) studies and research, by bringing in Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPC), a government recruitment agency registered under the Ministry of External Affairs, to help students find suitable foreign universities, courses, obtain visas, passport, travel, accommodation and even monitor their study.
The decision was taken as a survey showed that students from these communities who pursued higher studies in foreign universities from the state were a mere 62 in number until 2021, but within two years, the number rose to 425 due to the initiative taken by the Kerala Government.
An official from the SC development department told The New Indian Express that the overseas scholarship did not succeed in attracting enough bright students from the SC-ST community as there were fewer advertisements and hence, fewer applicants.
ODEPC's role
"One of the reasons was that the students from the deprived castes do not hear about the scholarship nor did anyone tell them. Secondly, the prospective students who apply for the scholarship will have to find the best courses and universities. And they also have to manage the travel documents including the visa and passports. Now with ODEPC on board, all these will change," he added.
ODEPC would now assist the students by doing the necessary research required to accrue more information on the courses run by the universities in different countries and will advise the students in selecting better courses.
The government has also decided to give weightage to girls, younger ones and children of a single parent, with a physical disability in addition to academic merit.
The official said that the ODEPC would screen these applicants based on their language proficiency, academic eligibility, choice of country of study and university and will prioritise each student's skills and further guide them to make a suitable choice for the right career.
He said, "ODEPC will have the responsibility to assess the credibility of the international universities that students choose."
Arrangements
The official also shed light on the facilities the ODEPC will give to the students. The ODEPC will arrange the visa processing, air tickets and academic payments as the department will release the payment directly to it. They would also find a place for the students and will arrange a facility to make sure that the students are received at the airport and will also arrange for their transportation.
The programme will also assist the students, who could not make it into the select list to prepare better for the next admission. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ODEPC will be keeping track of each student during their first year and provide respective departments with insights into the student's enrollment status and academics. If any student raises any objection, it will also be reported to the concerned department.
