Zep Program - Education Assistance Program
"If the mountain does not come to Mohammad, Mohammad must go to the mountain. If the poor cannot come to education, education must reach them at the plough, in the factory, everywhere."
Swami Vivekanand
Project Description
ZEP (झेप) Educational Assistance Program.
If you are supposed to climb a tough mountain ahead, will you be able to climb it without proper knowledge, fitness and a necessary support system?Same is the case of those underprivileged children who aspire to take higher education but are unable to perceive due to lack of wherewithal.
As Mandal is working in rural areas for the upliftment of the underprivileged tribal kids, our one of the main priority is the Education.Most of the tribal are very poor & living under Below Poverty Line (BPL), with a limited means of income. Most of them are dependent on agriculture and allied activities, which is not sufficient to take care of their livelihoods & is uncertain. They can’t afford expenses for their children’s education due to poor economic conditions, even if the student is talented & willing to learn. So Mandal has decided to work on this Educational Assistance Program.
We think that the support of parents to their wards is crucial for their educational development; hence we are ensuring active partenership of parents in this educational assistance program. We seek token (20%) financial involvement from these parents, wherever we provide 80% financial assistance towards fees & other expenses of students. Also, we will involve them in the non-financial aspects of our assistance program. There are 52 students who are taking benefits from our ZEP Educational Assistance Program during year 2014-15.
ZEP's Objectives
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To help & motivate the students who are from poor financial background but have willingness to continue higher education.
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Convey benefits of this scheme to maximum no of students located at remote villages like,Vihigao (Tal ShahapurDist Thane) and Khodade (Tal Wada Dist Thane), where Mandal has a presence.
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To help those students in any educational field, where those students wants to learn & make a career.
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To guide students in knowing what all educational/career resources can be availed by them.
Short Term Objectives
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To make available educational assistance to the students with active support and participation from their parents.
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To make Poor students self-sufficient & stand on their own feet by providing educational assistance.
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To motivate such students to work for the village development after completion of their education
Long Term Objectives
Beneficiaries:
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Students from poor financial background.
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Students who wish to updgrae their skills, learnings.
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Students who are from std 8th to std 10th & are staying in hostel.
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Students who desire to get admission in Jr. College as well as for further education to Sr. College.
Implementation of the Program
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Mandal implements the Assistance program in the following way:
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Mandal provides assistance for students of 8th standard to 10th standard in terms of Books/ School Bags/ Rain Coat (In Rains)/Sweater (In winter season) etc..
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We do fund School Fees-Hostel Charges, travelling pass expenses, books and stationary expenses of students who are seeking education of Jr college/Sr College.
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We will encourage students to succeed throughout their curriculum course, and will incentivize them for better performance.
Monitoring Progress of Students:
Mandal regularly does a followup of eligible students:all the progress of student is documented, like – obtaining feedback from his/her College/School about his/her academic progress, punctuality, attendence etc. Also feedback from the parents is obtained on a regular basis.
