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Scholarships for the Needy: 2010 – 2011 March 3, 2011

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Education, Gibb High School, Kanara Education Society, Kumta, Saraswati Vidya Kendra, Scholarship, Shanbhag School.
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Arun Shanbhag Needy students awarded Scholarships Kumta

That gift which is given to a worthy person, in the right circumstance, from whom we expect nothing in return, is held to be most pure.
~ Bhagavad Gita, 17:20

Here is the list of students awarded the 2010 Shanbhag Scholarships in Kumta, India. I thank the many donors who made valuable contributions, so needy students could gain a good education. If you would like to make a donation for the next academic year starting in June 2011, please contact me.

As our program has matured, we have expanded to support 50 students (29 girls, 21 boys) at six schools in Kumta, with only 11 of 50 students at the Shanbhag High School. In the complete list below, the prefix Kumari, refers to girls.

Scholarships were granted purely on the basis of need and included full tuition and a daily fabulous lunch.

    Saraswati Vidya Kendra, Kumta

  1. Kumari Kamakshi PS, Class II
  2. Kumari Apporva VS, Class II
  3. Tilak DN, Class II
  4. Kumari Kavya UH, Class III
  5. Kumari Diksha DV, Class III
  6. Maruti SSP, Class IV
  7. Aditya NK, Class VI
  8. Nakul NP, Class VI
  9. Kartik PS, Class VI
  10. Kumari Nidhi SK, Class VI
  11. Kumari Nidhi BB, Class VII
  12. Akshay SS, Class VII
  13. Srinivas VS, Class VII
  14. Mahesh AS, Class VII

    15. Shanbhag High School, Kumta

  15. Kumari Bhagavati SD, Class VIII
  16. Deepesh MN, Class VIII
  17. Gopalkrishna VS, Class VIII
  18. Vishal VS, Class VIII
  19. Kumari Namrata HG, Class VIII
  20. Kumari Yakshita JN, Class VIII
  21. Kumari Poornima KN, Class VIII
  22. Kumari Padmavati VS, Class IX
  23. Kumari Rekha KH, Class IX
  24. Kumari Akshata SS, Class X
  25. Kumari Nagaratna VB, Class X

    26. Gibb High School, Kumta

  26. Ganesh AS, Class IX
  27. Vivek VN, Class IX
  28. SPeter D, Class IX
  29. Vinayak DK, Class IX
  30. Raghavendra S, Class VIII

    31. Gibb Girls High School, Kumta

  31. Kumari Dhanashree VK, Class VIII
  32. Kumari Malati BH, Class IX
  33. Kumari Mallika MP, Class IX
  34. Kumari Shweta AS, Class IX
  35. Kumari Poojita SN, Class IX
  36. Kumari Teena KD, Class IX
  37. Kumari Nisha MS, Class X
  38. Kumari Soumya SP, Class X

    39. Mahatma Gandhi High School, Chitrigi, Kumta

  39. Aditya AB, Class VIII
  40. Kumari Vanita NP, Class IX
  41. Kumari Hasanbanu MS, Class IX
  42. Ganapati NP, Class IX
  43. Chandrahas SA, Class IX
  44. Kumari Swati SP, Class IX
  45. Kumari Divyashri RN, Class X

    46. Gibb English Medium High School, Kumta

  46. Kumari Divya B, Class VIII
  47. Kumari Soumya GP, Class VIII
  48. Gajanan GN, Class IX
  49. Jasper TN, Class IX
  50. Kumari Shraddha JS, Class X
NB: The Saraswati Vidya Kendra and the Shanbhag High School are managed by the Konkan Education Trust. The Gibb High School, Gibb Girls High School, Mahatma Gandhi High Shool, and the Gibb English Medium High School are managed by the Kanara Education Society, Kumta. Since many of the Kanara Education Society schools receive government aid, as well as food for their students, their scholarships costs are much lower.

Read more about our Scholarships:

My Posts on Kumta:

My Posts on the Shanbhag School, Kumta

Scholarships for the Needy: 2009 – 2010 January 16, 2010

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Gibb High School, Kanara Education Society, Kumta, Saraswati Vidya Kendra, Scholarship, Shanbhag School.
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kumta needy students

That gift which is given, knowing it to be a duty, in a fit time and place, to a worthy person, from whom we expect nothing in return, is held to be most pure.
~ Bhagavad Gita, 17:20

Several years ago we started these scholarships to support needy girls at the Shanbhag School in Kumta. This year, more friends and family joined in helping us support 48 students (29 girls and 19 boys). We extended beyond our original charter and 40 of 48 students are from other schools in Kumta. With your support we will keep growing and eventually cover ALL needy students in Kumta!
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Academic Update from Shanbhag School 2009 May 16, 2009

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Academic Updates, Shanbhag School.
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Just received results from the recent Karnataka State Board Exams (Std X) for students at the Shanbhag School in Kumta, Karnataka. What a spectacular performance by the students! Congratulations! Our gratitude also to the teachers who do a fabulous job, every day!

Summary of Results:
74 students appeared for the X Std, Karnataka State Board Exams, 2009:

  • Highest score of 96.5%
  • 20/74 students scored greater than 90%
  • 70/74 scored greater than 60%
  • 4/74 scored between 50 and 60%
  • No student in the entire class failed the X Std Board exams

Of the two Shanbhag Scholarship recipients in the graduating class, one received 90.4% and the other 69.92%. Excellent performers and we are elated to have contributed marginally to their studies. I hope hope they will be equally successful in college and in life.

I don’t expect our needy scholarship recipients to be at the top of the class, but we have given them an opportunity to study alongside the best students, at the best school. And they held their own. The network effects of this alone are worthwhile. This is akin to bringing deserving students to study at Harvard. You wouldn’t expect them at the top of the class, but just being here, they gain tremendously. Exactly that!

I am still collecting funds to support scholarships for needy students at the school. If you would like to make a contribution, please contact me.

Shanbhag School Related Posts:

Where are All the Needy Girls? June 23, 2008

Posted by Arun Shanbhag in Scholarship.
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Challenges of Identifying Needy Girls: My Personal Experience.

In the summer of 2006, we cousins raised money for 15 scholarships in Kumta. Emphasizing girls education, we allocated scholarships to 10 girls and 5 boys at the Shanbhag High School in Kumta. While the school is named after our grandfather, we have no role in its management. For more on our involvement with the School, see post on my personal blog here. I asked the school management to identify students in the school based solely on need. A few months later (October 2006), the school provided a list of students for consideration. Surprisingly it had 14 boys and 1 girl, very different from our emphasis on needy girls.

When asked about this discrepancy, I was told, “We don’t have any other needy girls in the school.”

I knew from previous visits, the gender ratio in the school is nearly even; also, the school management was giving me an honest opinion and specifically excluded girls who could afford tuition. Why did we have so many more needy boys? Where were all the needy girls? I was disappointed, but realized there were probably cultural dynamics at play and we needed more ground work to identify needy girls. Certainly they were there, but below our radar. We froze the scholarships and did not give to any student in 2006. I felt horrible for not supporting the needy boys, but could not come to grips with the skewed gender ratio.

Where are the needy girls?
After much reading on the priorities of poor families in India, as well as statistics from the United Nations, I finally came upon the answer.

I called my contact at the School and said:

“I know where the needy girls are! Just ask the needy boys on your list, where their sisters are!”

Poor parents send their daughters to either work the fields, work as maids, or help around the house, while the boys go to school!

Poor Families Make Choices
Needy families make seemingly wise (but flawed) decisions based on their current and future economic welfare. Sons, who contribute to family wealth, are sent to good schools. Even if it means scrounging and borrowing; or in many cases, simply enrolling in the school, paying a minimal deposit and constantly pleading with management to forgive delinquent fees.

The girls are put to work as maids and help around the house. Or, the girls are sent to local government schools teaching in the local vernacular language, for free. Thus, even if the girls do go to school, they end up with significant drawbacks in furthering their education and importantly, their job prospects. See, the poor families perceive no incentive in spending valuable resources on educating girls. After all, the girls will get married and go to their husband’s house. It is the boys who are expected to bring home a bride and also help take care of parents in their old age.

Guided by this understanding the school management made a tremendous effort to recruit needy girls. Firstly by asking families of needy boys for their siblings, and secondly, by actively spreading the word in the community.

Making Progress
For the 2007-2008 academic year, we made significant progress and identified 6 girls and 10 boys and gave them scholarships (see details here).

This was not a perfect solution, but it provided our team with a firm understanding of the cultural challenges in this area. Now, we have put in motion means to identify and recruit needy girls. Along the way, we will support needy boys as well. As we continue this work, you are welcome to join us.

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