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Elis Swu launches the CAN Youth’s My Scholarship Foundation campaign, on Saturday in Dimapur.[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Nov. 3 : A local nongovernmental organisation in Dimapur has launched a scholarship foundation that will help underprivileged children and those who have withdraw from schooling. The foundation seeks to campaign for the marginalised sections because of a ‘gap of relationship between the teacher and students,’ and that the community had also never put an effort to address the issue of ‘dropouts.’
According to the group, the Community Avenue Network (CAN) Youth, 57% of students do not complete high school while 32% leave studies in middle school; and 11% do so before reaching middle school. The CAN is said to be collaborating with the Bosco Institute at Jorhat in Assam.
This data was presented by CAN Youth’s member Jenpu Rongmei at the launch of ‘My Scholarship Foundation’ campaign on Sat. Nov. 3, at the Tourist Lodge in Dimapur.
The CAN youth leader said that the organisation had been supporting students in the Below Poverty Line category since 2012; and has so far supported 29 students. It was during such activities that the organisation found that there were many children who had left school studies incomplete, and probably one of the neglected sections in the state.
The objective of the My Scholarship Foundation campaign is to support these students, Rongmei said. He spoke about a ‘gap of relationship between the teacher and students; the community has also never put an effort to address the issue of dropouts.’
Rongmei said that CAN Youth was offered funds by the NE AID, Assam as part of it's organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility for the campaign. The organisation refused to accept the offer as it wanted to make the campaign community-based and ‘bring the community together.’
The campaign targets supporting 50 students for the year 2019. Rongmei appealed for support from students’ organisations and community groups to the campaign. He expressed apprehension that ‘one day Nagaland may become an illiterate state’ if the rate of students leaving school without completing studies continues to increase.
The general secretary of Naga Women Hoho of Dimapur, Elis Swu, who attended the programme as a special guest, urged members of CAN Youth to be earnest in their campaign ‘unlike other organisations with vested interests who forge documents for funds.’ She asked the organisation to use the campaign for genuine beneficiaries. She expressed hope that My Scholarship Foundation campaign will be an advantage for beneficiaries.
