SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Feb 10: In a first, the principal of Marwari College Ranchi Prof Dr Manoj Kumar has launched a special initiative to help the underprivileged students of the university through Uniform Banks.
Initially started to help a few students of the college who could not afford uniforms to sit in the mid-semester exams, and the bank has till now helped over 60 students.
Principal Kumar, explained while talking to Lagatar correspondent, said, “We initially began because we wanted to help one of the students who did not attend the mid-semester exams. When asked for the reason, he said that he could not afford the uniforms. He chose not to attend the exams because of the rules of the college that need students to be in uniform to attend an exam.”
“This led to us asking for old uniforms from the pass-out students, who did not need them anymore. Soon, the number of students in need began increasing. Hence, we decided to collect amounts from the teachers of the college. They were asked to donate some money if they could to a couple of teachers. This money was used to buy uniforms to form a Uniform Bank to supply uniforms to several other students,” Principal Kumar added.
When asked how the students are selected, he said that the HoDs and class representatives recommend names of students who may be in need. They are called and asked if they would like uniforms if they are not able to afford them. If they respond in the affirmative, these students are provided one uniform each. Furthermore, he stated that he has plans to arrange over 200 uniforms for the new batch in the coming year with the help of an NGO.
Prior to being the principal at Marwari College, Dr Kumar was the principal of Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav College. During his tenure there, Dr Kumar began an initiative to provide financial help of Rs 500-1000 to the students from his own pocket in order to fill up fees. Soon Dr Kumar urged the teachers to deposit Rs 10 or more each. As a result of this, after collecting amounts from several teachers, they were able to collect over Rs 1000-2000. This amount was then paid to pay the fees of the underprivileged students of the college.
Talking about this, Dr Kumar said, “When I was the principal of Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav College, the students of the college would come to me. Some would not have money to pay the fees. I helped some students financially on my own, then urged all the teachers to deposit Rs 10 each in a month. It was not necessary for everyone to give the money, however, I urged them to help if they wanted to. All the teachers cooperated in this and many teachers even deposited more than Rs 10. At the same time, a retired teacher went ahead to give up to Rs one lakh, however, circumstances did not allow me to take the money, because I was already transferred here.”
