Gift a scholarship to a meritorious girl student by Bhagini Nivedita Pratishthan Pune

Every year, BNP invites applications for scholarships from needy and deserving female students after the opening of colleges in June.

This year, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus and the lockdown thereafter, colleges opened late and at different times. Their admission procedure also started in August/September 2021.

We published a "Nivedan" in newspapers about these scholarships and invited applications from deserving candidates in September 2020. We created a Google Form and made the link available to students. 90 students applied online.

A separate four-member committee was formed.

The committee carefully studied each application and verified the uploaded documents. The students were interviewed personally by phone call.

On December 25, 2021, we organized a free workshop on "Career Guidance" for all applicants. Dr. Bhooshan Kelkar (Director-Neuflex Talent Solutions P.L. and Career Counselor) and his colleague, Mrs. Madhura Kelkar (Psychologist), guided the students on employability skills.

At present, through Give donations, 7 students have benefited and can continue their higher education. Some students are still on the waiting list.

BNP Pune is providing financial aid through scholarships with the aim of empowering a woman by strengthening her higher education. The assistance is useful for partial payment of tuition fees, for hostel accommodation, for support activities like projects, field work, educational visits etc. Due to the paucity of funds, it is realized that a lot of girls and women are indeed in need of such support and we could reach only a handful of them. For the beneficiary, this is a unique activity taking place once a year that is carried out during the months of August and September, after the commencement of the new academic year and when the admissions are almost over. During the pandemic, the entire education system was hit to a large extent. There are delays in exams, results, and admissions. As a result, identifying the beneficiaries and checking their credentials was a challenging job. The girls were in their hometowns with their parents, where the connectivity was very poor and receiving their documents online and on time was very difficult. To resolve these problems, we gave the beneficiaries extra time to submit the documents. We also arranged for online interviews instead of physical ones, for which a lot of time had to be spared for the selection committee members, and they made all the efforts to reach out to the beneficiaries, and the process was completed.

Activity plan for the next six months

The merit list is finalized and ready for the whole year. On this basis, the funds will be distributed as and when received. Although we have given a time limit for applications, in the background of the pandemic and difficult situations, we will accept the applications/requests received hereafter also.

The financial assistance by way of scholarships means a lot to the beneficiaries. Apart from paying tuition fees, the money is a great help for supporting activities like projects, field work, buying study materials, etc.

For Pornima, a meritorious student pursuing her education at Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalay Pune, this scholarship amount was a god-sent opportunity to buy drawing materials and colours to complete her painting project. She comes from an underprivileged background, has lost her father, and gets some support from her uncle. She got admission to this prestigious college after overcoming fierce competition. She is now a blessed girl and is grateful to Bhagini Nivedita Pratishthan Pune for the support.

During the period Jan to June 2021, Bhagini Nivedita Pratishthan Pune (BNP) awarded scholarships to 3 girl students. BNP not only awards scholarships to needy meritorious girl students but also organizes free career guidance workshops for all applicants. This year on 23rd Jan 2021, BNP organized such a workshop. Dr Bhooshan Kelkar (Director of Neuflex and career counsellor) and his colleague Mrs Madhura Kelkar (Psychologist) guided the students virtually. For last more than a year, all students coming from lower-income groups are facing financial problems due to Covid-19 and lockdown etc. This program of awarding scholarships was very much helpful for them.

This year due to the outbreak of coronavirus and lockdown thereafter, normal life is totally affected all over in all walks of life including educational institutions. All colleges were closed till Aug.2020. Their admission procedure also started in Aug.2020. This year colleges also opened late and at different times. We, therefore, accepted the applications for scholarships up to the end of December 2020. We published a ‘Nivedan’ in newspapers about these scholarships and invited applications from deserving candidates in Aug 2020. Due to the current situation, we completed all scholarship disbursement procedures online. We created Google Form and made the link available to students. 75 students applied online. A separate three members committee was formed for this purpose. The committee carefully studied each application and verified the uploaded documents. The students were interviewed either on a phone call or at our office by following safety measures. We transferred the scholarship amount online to beneficiaries bank accounts.The admissions for Academic Year 2021-22 are not yet opened.

These students have appeared for the exam and the result is awaited. Therefore by the next reporting cycle, we will aim to share impact stories with all our generous donors.

Due to Corona Pandemic followed by lock down, colleges were closed till Aug.2020. Online lectures and admission procedure started in August mid. We created a google form for scholarship disbursement to students and the link was opened on 20th Sept 2020. 75 girl students applied for the scholarship. After making scrutiny of all documents and other details 10 students were selected for scholarship through Give India. Remaining students are on waiting list. We transferred the scholarship amount to their bank account directly.

Token of appreciation for the generosity

The total number of beneficiaries in the program is more than 60. In the period from October 2019 to March 2020, we have given scholarships to 15 students through GiveIndia.
In the month of October 2019, BNP organised a free workshop on "Career guidance and employability skills" for all the students who had applied for the scholarship.
The session was a huge success. It helped the students and benefitted them immensely.
Some of the key points addressed through this workshop was future goals, diverse career options and job oppurtunities in various fields, the soft skills and life-skills.
The session proved to be very useful to the students and was much needed as it provided them with clarity of thought, gave them a space to ask questions and express their doubts and concerns.

Girls engaged in learning sessions