SRI SIVAKUMAR EDUCATIONAL AND CHARITABLE TRUST – 43rd YEAR AWARD FUNCTION
Actor Mr. Sivakumar has been rewarding and encouraging the students who have completed their 12th examination with good marks for the past 43 years. He formed the trust to encourage the students during the release of his 100th film. All these years, Mr. Sivakumar has been identifying the deserving students and has been awarding them to encourage.
The 43rd year award function of Sri Sivakumar educational and charitable trust was a grand success which was held at ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE OF MADRAS, NO.24, COLLEGE ROAD, NUNGAMBAKKAM, CHENNAI. This year 25 students consisting of various categories like school toppers, visually challenged, students from economically backward families were given Rs. 10, 000/- each amounting Rs.2 Lakh & 50 Thousand of financial assistance.
Along with this, Rs.1 lakh was given to the ‘Thai Tamil School’ for poor students run by Tindivanam Education Development Committee and Rs.50, 000/- was given to Ramu, a senior artist.
In the event, after the welcome speech, the award ceremony was held for the students. The award winning students continued to share their experiences. Speaking on the occasion, Sivakumar said, “The ‘Sri Sivakumar Educational and charitable trust’, which was started in May 1979, has been encouraging the students who scored the best and highest marks in the +2 examination. After 30 years of my responsibility, the trust was taken over by Agaram Foundation and has been doing excellent educational work. My thought of helping poor students in a small way, is taken care of by my children who are now doing well. I know very well how difficult it is for people born in poor families in the village to study. I have also experienced firsthand how much education can improve one’s quality of life. I take great satisfaction in doing my best to help children who are born in a poor family like me and study well. This is the first win over hurdles. There is still a long way to go. “Students should not lose their focus and continue to progress in life,” he said.
Agaram Foundation Treasurer Actor Karthi said that the seed for the educational work of Agaram Foundation was sown 43 years ago. Agaram is a continuation of Sri Sivakumar Educational and Charitable Trust’s 43 years of providing educational incentives to young students. Social deficiencies can be eradicated over time by creating young people with good academic knowledge, good thinking and social responsibility. We know through Agaram’s work that education plays an important role in shaping young minds. Started as an attempt to realise the life dreams of a few young people, Agaram’s Vidhai Project has provided college education opportunities to 4750 students in the last 13 years. We are working together with like-minded individuals and organisations for a fair and equal educational opportunity. When the alphabet is started; Today, as we enter the thirteenth year of the Vidhai project, we maintain utmost transparency in every work. Agaram works in the deep belief that permanent and lasting changes can be created through education.
The extraordinary situation that has occurred in the last three academic years starting from 2020 has made the educational opportunity of the marginalised people even more vulnerable. Online education has created an additional burden for families who cannot go to work and earn daily wages due to the lockdown situation. Our father has been conducting this family function for 40 years and has not been able to hold it for the last two years. However, it is the reality of the situation that drives the work of agaram. We had carried out work to at least reduce the difficulties faced by simple families in an unusual environment.
1. In December 2020, we identified 500 students from government schools studying 10th, 11th and 12th standard to face public examinations and awarded them a ‘smart phone’ worth Rs.10,000/-.
2. We have paid the tuition fees to the students who have studied in private educational institutions and who are unable to pay the tuition fees due to financial loss, to the maximum of Rs.10, 000/- per student belonging to 4000 families.
3. We have identified 556, 658, 560 students in the years 2020, 2021, 2022 respectively and created higher education opportunities for them through the Agaram Vidhai Program in collaboration with like-minded educational institutions.
Agaram volunteers continued the above work even in the environment where the lockdown period and the fear of disease turned the normal life upside down. Agaram is by its dedicated volunteers. I congratulate and thank each of them on this occasion.
Although we have passed the era of epidemics with the help of science, we have seen clearly in the literature that the impact on education has continued. Distractions are increasing among students. The impact on students’ academic continuity continues. At least one hundred students who apply for Agaram’s Vidhai Scheme every year will have completed +2 in the previous academic year. Among the applications received this year, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of those who completed +2 last year. This worries us greatly. Even today, we meet students who are waiting for educational opportunities even though the admissions in polytechnic and arts & science colleges are over and the academic year has started. Those students are waiting for an opportunity to prove themselves to the world and we are trying our best to fill their educational gap.
For the last two academic years, Agaram has been participating in development programs for students of government schools like ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’, ‘School Management Committee’ and ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ in collaboration with the School Education Department. As an additional initiative, we have started the ‘Agaram Namadhu Palli Fellowship Program’ in Jamunamarathur Union Hill Village Schools of Tiruvannamalai District. Four primary schools, which are run as single-teacher schools in each village, are selected on the basis of need (priority), and Agaram alumni have started daily teaching duties. They are beginning to work with villagers to increase student enrollment in schools and reduce dropout rates. It is a pleasure to see alumni of Agaram participating in this program.
Inai Project:
Public schools in the neighbourhood have a great role to play in fulfilling the educational dream of the common man. Most of us who work at various levels of society are probably educated in public schools. Even today public schools are the only source of education for marginalised people. For the past two years, we have been working through the “Inai” organization to unite former students who studied in public schools and work for the development of their respective schools. The purpose of ”Inai” is to convey the responsibility of a school over the community and the right and responsibility of a community over the school. Together with many volunteers who have come forward to run public schools with concern for public schools, students of Agaram Vidhai are taking the experiences gained as a pilot project in Madurai district and in Tindivanam of Villupuram district to the schools where they have studied. They are preparing to expand the program to 380 schools this academic year. We determine the level of Agaram’s work with the available resources.
Agaram has a deep belief in the idea of inclusive education. Education is the most important social work. Real changes in society will only happen when we do what we can, rather than waiting for someone else to bring about the changes. We all know how important education is. The Tamil Nadu Government has constituted a State Education Policy Design Committee. The Education Policy Design Committee has asked the public to share their views and suggestions related to education by October 15. Anyone interested in education and the future of society is requested to send suggestions to [email protected].
Agaram undertakes tough and challenging tasks for the academic development of the students and to take them towards the next dimension of life. Thank you to all the donors who provide financial support for the intensive work carried out by the volunteers, and the educational institutions who continue to support and embrace the educational opportunities of the Vidhai project students. Agaram works are like ‘ஊர் கூடி தேர் இழுப்பது’. For the educational upliftment of the humble families, unity is more necessary today than ever before. Let’s stay connected. He said that.
The event was hosted by Dhanraj, studying Bachelor of Agricultural Science at Annamalai University, and Shrimathi who is studying Engineering at Sathyabama University, with the help of Agaram. Students, Parents, Agaram volunteers and Prof. Kalyani participated.