Alumni pay back by instituting Means-cum-Merit Scholarships

Aligarh: Twenty-four students from the Faculty of Engineering and Technology and seven students from the Faculty of Management Studies and Research (FMSR), Aligarh Muslim University received various means-cum-merit scholarships from individual donors. The scholarships given to the students include Syed Athar Husain Rizvi Scholarship (SAHR), Young Manager, Tauheed Hasan-Iftekhar Ahmad, Mohd Ismail Scholarship, Young Beacon, Young Inspiration, Bibi Habiba-Bibi Sadiya, Technology Leader and Stoic Technologist. SAHR was instituted by Mr. Jafar Rizvi in 2017 in the memory of his father, Late Professor Syed Athar Husain Rizvi (an alumnus and former Professor of AMU), for Engineering and Management students.
The initiative had a snowball effect and several other spirited alumni including Dr Asma Sheikh (Bhopal), Mrs. Nishat and Mr. Rashid Jamal (USA), Mr. M. Anwar (Bahrain) and Mrs. Nabeela and Mr. Sohail Razzack (New Delhi) and a few others who wish to remain anonymous joined the charitable alliance.
Addressing the awardees at the scholarship distribution ceremony held at the Management Complex, the chief guest, Mr Jafar Rizvi (CFA, Partner, Harding Loevner, USA) said that this noble initiative began in 2017, when a few alumni decided to reach out to the financially weak meritorious students of professional courses like Engineering and MBA at the Aligarh Muslim University.
The scholarships, ranging from Rs. 20000 to Rs. 25000 per annum are given to the students depending on their financial needs and academic performance. A total of Rs 7.5 lakhs worth of scholarships were distributed this year under the umbrella scheme. These students are identified and selected through an intensive screening and interview process. Mr. Rizvi appreciated the contribution of Dr Fawzia Tarannum (Faculty, TERI School of Advanced Studies, Delhi) in steering the entire process. He also acknowledged the efforts of Dr Shaheer Khan (AEEF, USA), Prof Parvaiz Talib (Chairman and Dean-FMSR), Prof M M Sufyan Beg (Chairman, Alumni Affairs Committee) and Dr Saboohi Nasim (Associate Professor, FMSR) in coordinating the programme. Prof Parvaiz Talib, Chairman and Dean FMSR, in his welcome address appreciated the generous efforts made by the alumni group in instituting such an outreach scheme to benefit the meritorious students.
Dr. Fawzia Tarannum who facilitated the scholarship process who could not join the scholarship distribution function sent a message that said, “Education is the first step towards empowerment and these baby steps taken by the Alumni to support their alma-mater shall go a long way in changing lives.”
Aligarh Education Endowment Fund (AEEF), a charitable organization founded by AMU alumni and well-wishers in USA to serve the educational needs of the underprivileged communities in India facilitated the fundraising efforts of USA based alumni and the routing of the funds to enable disbursement to the awardees. AEEF is also funding a broad variety of educational projects, ranging from school to post-graduate levels to accelerate the flow of the young generation into the economic mainstream.
The program was conducted by one of the scholarship recipient, Ms. Hamda Siddiqui, a student of MBA.