Delhi Trust takes up coaching for Rural Students

New Delhi, Apr 13 (UNI) With education becoming costlier and prerogative of the rich families, a volunteer organisation from Delhi has taken an arduous task of training the needy and talented students from rural areas of Punjab for entrance examinations in professional colleges.

Gyan Sewa Trust has started special 25-day coaching classes at Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran district of the state for preparing students from surrounding villages for entrance examinations in professional courses like Medical, Engineering, Biotechnology, and Architect.''For the purpose, the Trust has engaged highly qualified faculty from Delhi, who will stay at the village for 25 days and teach the students there,'' Trust Chairman HS Phoolka said here today.

The Trust is already running two centres, one at Khadoor Sahib and the other at Nawan Shehr for the past one year and the faculty from Delhi goes there to hold classes every weekend.

As the students need a continuous practice for appearing in the entrance examinations, the Trust has planned a 25-day crash course this year.

The Trust, whose endeavour is 'to fund students; not school buildings', aims to provide equal access to educational resources to the rural students, as are available to their counterparts in the cities. The village students are expected to compete with the students from big cities, but they fail to do so because they are deprived of the resources required for preparation and lack mental training of a particular fashion.

Last year, only four per cent students from rural areas could get admission in professional colleges while 96 seats went to wards of resourceful families in urban areas.

The course programme will be inaugurated by former Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairman S J S Chhatwal and renowned Heart Specialist from Escorts Hospital T S Kler would be the Chief Guest at a special function to be held at Khadoor Sahib on April 15. The valedictory programme on May 12, 2007 would be addressed by Punjab Education Minister Upenderjeet Kaur.

The crash course, free of any charges, would be attended by students from various parts of the state belonging to the poor families of daily wagers , drivers, barbars, plumbers, peons, mason and small resource-poor farmers.

Th expenses of the course, are being borne by eminent journalist, writer and diplomat Patwant Singh.

The Trust runs its programmes with sponsorship from eminent citizens and philanthropists, who wish to uplift students from villages.

The sponsors can contact the Trust at gyansewa.com.

UNI