Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, Advisor to School Education (2nd from Right), Chief Secretary of Nagaland, Sentiyanger Imchen, IAS (R), Pankaj Triparti, Principal Consultant, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation (3rd from R), Kevileno Angami, Commissioner & Secretary to School Education (2nd from L), Director of School Education, Razouseyi Vese (L), and Jacob Sukumar, Manager, Operations, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation (4th from L) seen during the signing of MoU on Vidyadhan Scholarship Program at Chief Secretary's Conference Hall in Kohima on April 28.
Morung Express News
Kohima | April 28
In a major boost for students from Government schools who recently cleared the High Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) Examinations, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Sarojini Damodaran Foundation and Department of School Education at Chief Secretary's Conference Hall, offering Vidyadhan Scholarship for government school students on April 28.
The MoU was signed by Pankaj Triparti, Principal Consultant, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation and Director of School Education, Razouseyi Vese in the presence of Advisor to School Education, Dr. Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, Chief Secretary of Nagaland, Sentiyanger Imchen, IAS, and Kevileno Angami, Commissioner & Secretary to School Education among other Officials.
Under the MoU, the Vidyadhan Scholarship Program, offered by the Sarojini Damodaran Foundation will be reserved for indigenous students of Nagaland, with a strong focus on those completing Class 10 from Government schools.
Briefing the media, Pankaj Triparti, Principal Consultant, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation highlighted that selected students will receive financial assistance to pursue Higher Secondary Education and continue through Graduation, subject to consistent academic performance and adherence to program guidelines.
In addition to financial support, he said that, “the program adopts a holistic development approach, with a rigorous selection process involving tests, interviews, and home visits to ensure genuine need.” Beneficiaries are further supported through continuous mentoring, career guidance, life skills training, and exposure to opportunities that enhance employability, he informed.
The MoU between Sarojini Damodaran Foundation and the Department of School Education, Government of Nagaland is for a period of five years, extendable upon mutual agreement, and will be effective from 1st May 2026 till 31st March 2031.
Under the program, Vidyadhan will provide Rs 10,000 per year for Grade 11 and 12, while Degree Level Scholarships will range from Rs 25,000 to Rs 75,000 per year, depending on the course pursued.
Stating that the scholarship program started in 1999 from a school in Kerala, 27 years back, he also revealed that currently it's implemented in 22 states and union territories across India numbering to more than 78,000 scholarships and benefitting more than 15,000 students from the Vidyadhan Scholarship Program.
Another feature of the scholarship, he pointed out is mentoring wherein besides financial support students are also given career counselling, soft skills development, including internships.
Jacob Sukumar, Manager, Operations, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation said that the beauty of the program is that they get the funds from the sponsors while articulating that, “we don't take any administrative charges from the donors. The entire amount that you sponsor is a sponsor that directly goes to the students at home.”
Mention may be made here that the Sarojini Damodaran Foundation, was set up by Kumari Shibulal (Managing Trustee) and SD Shibulal (Co-founder and former CEO, Infosys), and is designed to support students from economically disadvantaged families, particularly those at risk of dropping out after completing Class 10.
Addressing the media, Advisor to School Education, Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, remarked that with the matriculation results declared a couple of days back, the scholarship came at an 'opportune time'.
Stating that the scholarship is not just limited to the school level, he said, “it fosters, even at the graduation level, whether they are pursuing medical sciences or engineering.” Terming it as 'very unique', he also stated that, “if you look at the ecosystem of philanthropy in India, we are very happy for a state like Nagaland, which is very far-flung, and agrarian-based livelihood with no major industry.” In this regard, he said that, “in whatever small capacity or big capacity, it will be a very big thing for our people and will especially touch the lives of our children.”
Observing that the threshold of how we look at education in Nagaland is provided by the central schools, and majorly the private sector, which are also contributing in building the leadership of young children, he maintained that, “this scholarship exclusively for our children in the government schools, who are from the low-income group, and is difficult for them to have hopes and dreams beyond a certain limit, there is a very composite, unique feature in the entire scholarship.”
Stating that “the Vidyadhan Scholarship goes a little beyond what we call just providing resources”, he further expressed that, “I think there is a lot of fostering and I understand that we are in good hands.”
