Vellore: Founder and Chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Dr. G. Viswanathan has on Saturday called upon students to strive with dedication to remove the twin ills of illiteracy and poverty afflicting the society.
Delivering the presidential address on the occasion of STARS Day at VIT here, Dr. Viswnathan said that among many programmes underway at VIT, the one that was very close to him continues to be the STARS project. Support the Advancement of Rural Students (STARS) of the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development and Research Studies (CSRD&RS) has been rural areas higher education since 2008. Each year, beneficiaries of STARS Scheme who had now landed in good jobs all over the world meet along with their families on the occasion of STARS Day. VIT has taken new initiative of STARS which aims to provide opportunities to pursue quality higher education to the underprivileged rural students. The Father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi had rightly said that the soul of India lies in its Villages. VIT University believes that financial roadblocks must never impede opportunities to academic excellence and success.
Each year, sixty-two students are chosen from rural Tamil Nadu, each of these students are stars in their own right, having topped the higher secondary examinations conducted by the State Government in their respective districts. Initially this scheme was started in Seven Districts namely Cuddalore, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Thiruvannamalai, Kancheepuram, Villupuram and Vellore and later extended to all 31 districts except Chennai from 2009.
A. Kaliyamurthy, former Superintendent of Police Tiruchirappalli, said that there was no greater virtue than providing quality education to the poor and lauded the efforts of Dr. Viswanathan on this front. Vice President Dr. Sekar Viswananthan, Vice Chancellor Dr. Anand A. Samuel, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. S. Narayanan, Registrar Dr. K. Sathiyanarayanan and Dr. Sundarrajan, In Charge of CSRD&RS and Convenor Dr. S. Meenakshi were present on the occasion.
