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Bengal

WBSU to offer tuition fee waiver for specially-abled students

Kolkata: The West Bengal State University (WBSU) in Barasat is all set to offer complete waiver of tuition fees for physically-challenged students pursuing post graduation in the varsity.

The university will also be providing the same benefits to another 50 students, who are meritorious but under financial constraints to continue their studies . The university is hopeful that the step will encourage them in pursuit of higher studies.

"The measure is in accordance with our new ideas of inclusivity in the university. We are roping in corporate houses, who are interested to provide funds to the university under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The money they are providing will be used for similar exercises of inclusivity in education," said Basab Chaudhuri, Vice-Chancellor of WBSU.

A leading corporate organisation at Woodburn Park in Kolkata has already given Rs 2 lakh as part of their CSR to WBSU.

Some other houses have also verbally agreed to give funds to the university which will be utilised to encourage meritorious students of weakfinancial background to carry out their higher studies.

During the 2017 convocation held in the university , Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi while awarding degrees to two students learnt about their financial stringency to pursue further education.

The Governor later gave them Rs 10,000 each for continuing their studies and also urged the varsity to take measures to provide fellowship for needy yet meritorious students.

There were around 800 students who had enrolled in the university for post graduation in 2018.

The university is introducing PG degree in Urdu from the current academic year.

"We had Urdu department since 2008 but could not start offering PG degree because there were no teachers. We have recruited teachers and have already released notification regarding commencement or Urdu in PG from this year," a senior university official said.

WBSU has 46 affiliated colleges in North 24-Parganas under its aegis with an average enrolment of nearly 55000 students.

The university accounts for a huge number of first generation learners with more than 90 percent of such students in its affiliated colleges located at Basirhat and Chadraketugarh. Even in its affiliated college Ramkrishna Sarada Mission at Nagerbazar there is 60 percent first generation learners.

"I have reached out to a number of our affiliated colleges in remote areas and

have found out that students opt out in the middle of their study as they have to take the burden of their family," Chaudhuri said.

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