Eligibility Criteria for Scholarships

General Eligibility Criteria

(a) The candidate must be an Indian citizen and a resident of India.

(b) Income of the parent/ guardian not to exceed Rs 1.80 lakh/ annum.

(c) Candidate should be studying in a Government/ Government-aided School/College/University.

(d) Initially, the scholarship programme will cover in limited Districts of Uttar Pradesh e.g. Aligarh, Mathura & Bulandshahr. Additional districts may be added subsequently by Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust, at their discretion.

(e) In case the eligible candidates are more than the number of scholarships available, the candidates will be assessed against overall weightage laid by Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust on their current ranking in the merit list, reputation of institutes where admission is sought, past academic record, economic conditions and result of Scholarship entrance test personal interview by a selection panel, if required.

(f) Visit to the residence of the applicant may be made to verify the income criteria/ economic condition of the parents before approving the scholarship. Decision of Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust will be final in this regard.

(g) Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust reserves the right to waive off the above mentioned conditions in deserving cases, depending on its merits.

(h) Students studying in Public schools under the 25% reserved quota for economically backward children will also be eligible, on submission of proof from the Principal.

Renewal of Scholarships

(a) The Scholarship will be reviewed every year for continued academic performance of the students and their parents continued to meet the annual income criteria along with regular class/school attendance.

(b) 80% school attendance strictly desired for the continuity of the Scholarship.

(c) School attendance will be reviewed every 3 month.

Implementation of the Scholarship Programme

An analysis of scholarship programmes being run by other corporate / NGO’s has been carried out by detailed study from the internet and personal interaction. This has revealed that most corporate / NGO’s are implementing their programmes by themselves; their administration requires considerable staffing for it to run successfully and reach the target segment which will necessarily be from the rural areas. In view of the above it has been decided that there will be a dedicated team within Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust to administer, mentor, monitor and implement the programme. Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust scholarship team will ensure the following:-

(a) Identify the NGO’s/ Agencies to implement the school programme.

(b) Spread awareness of the programme in schools/ institutions in the urban/rural regions being covered.

(c) Closely interact with the NGO during planning and setting up of the nodal Centers to ensure proper staff, infrastructure and equipment are selected

(d) Ensure submission of periodic reports on progress of the programme from the implementing NGO.

(e) Monitor the NGO/ Agency implementing the programme on a regular basis and ensure timely disbursement of funds based on attendance.

(f) Ensure selection criteria laid down by Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust is implemented strictly while selecting students for the programme.

(g) Verification of income details/ economic condition of the family of candidates to be done, including site visits to their homes.

(h) Ensure selected students for the scholarship programmes are counseled regularly throughout the term of receipt of scholarships to resolve any difficulties speedily. This is crucial to the success of the programme as the students are from lower strata of society where drop out rates are highest.

(i) Follow-up with partner institutes and students and get periodic results/ assessments to monitor progress in an ongoing manner.

(j) Maintain liaison with institutes and scholars to follow up on the progress of the programme and incorporate any changes with time.

(k) Develop a data base and keep track of scholarship beneficiaries and create an alumni network of “Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust”.

Conclusion

The scholarship programme can be one of the major initiatives of Smt. Urmila Mittal Memorial Trust. Being merit-cum-need based, the initiative will be of immense value by promoting talent in the underprivileged community, who otherwise would have no access to higher and quality education. However, it is imperative that lessons learnt from other similar programmes are kept in mind to ensure its success.