Kerala: Project Shine' helps tribal students excel

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Project Shine’ has made a mark in helping tribal students get admissions in the Sainik School, Kazhakoottam.  This time, 12  students belonging to Attapady hamlets have qualified in the all-India Sainik Schools entrance examination for class six.‘Project Shine’ is an initiative of the 1991 batch of Sainik School, Kazhakoottam, who coached the tribal students for the sixth grade  entrance exam.

The   students, P. Adarsh, M. Amal, V. Arun, B. Binu, M. Mithun, Ramesh, Subramanian, S. Surya, R. Preethish, Rajesh Raju, R. Karthik and Nishad who belong to different tribal government schools in the hamlets,  will face the interview board  on February 20  and  21 at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health, Kozhikode. Mr Babu Mathew, convener of ‘Project Shine' said that last  year  seven students  had joined the Sainik School.

Though the total project strength was 110 which included 58 girls, only 33 boys wrote the SSK entrance exam.  The  total number of seats in SSK has been reduced from 80 to 60. “We hope this time five to six tribal students will come up trumps after the interview and medical tests. Tribal parents have started seriously thinking about studies and are sending their children for coaching classes,”  said Mr Babu Mathew who belongs to the 91’ batch of SSK.

The  seven sixth-graders who had enrolled at SSK last year will spearhead the training camp for the new recruits during April 3-8  at Attapady. The project was running on Rs 30 lakh  generated by the 1991 batchmates, alumni of SSK and contributors, but  the annual requirement  is  Rs 60 lakh. So far the 1991 batchmates and alumni of SSK have  generated Rs 12 lakh. In another week’s time, the government will release Rs 9.5 lakh.

The students were given breakfast, lunch and snacks and conveyance with some of them coming from as far as 40 km  away to Attappady Hill Area Development Society (AHADS) in Agali where the coaching was being held. The initiative has been dedicated to the memory of their 1991 batchmate, Shine P. Baby, a lecturer at Rajagiri College, Kalamassery, who passed away in 2006.