ACTIVITY REPORT OF COVA – From 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020 – Breaking into The System

 

COVA has also mobilised funds to provide Rations Kits for 800 Refugees and is seeking donations for the remaining 550 refugee families of the 1350 families that are living in Hyderabad. Distribution of Ration Kits has started and is expected to conclude by 10^th April when at least 1000 refugee families will receive rations to survive for at least for a month and a half along with Rs. 500 for sundry expenses.

COVA is striving to provide rations support to the remaining 550 families and is working to provide additional support beyond a month and a half if required given the unpredictability of the pandemic and the state of the economy.

A landmark achievement has been the success of a representation of COVA to the Government of Telangana to provide rations to the Migrant Workers through the Public Distribution System that the Government announced immediately benefiting over 350,000 Migrant Workers in Telangana State.

COVA made a representation to the Chief Secretary of Telangana and Secretary for Migrant Workers and the Vice Chairman of the State Planning Board to consider providing Temporary Ration Coupons to the Migrant Workers from other states who have no ration Cards but have Aadhar Cards showing address of another State.

With the Lockdown, the Migrants were not getting their weekly wages and with their meagre savings depleted, they were on the verge of starvation. The Government of Telangana immediately announced that free rations would be provided to all the migrant workers in the State through Government Ration Shops along with Rs. 500 in cash for sundry expenses. This has come as a great boon and will save thousands from starvation.

Chief Minister of Telangana announcing Free Rations for Migrant Workers!

COVA’s Recommendation for Online Loan Facility to Small Businesses Sees eMUDRA Scheme

Finance Ministry of the Government of India had accepted 8 of the 12 Recommendations made by COVA for financial inclusion of the poor in 2015. Now, one more of the Recommendations- of automatic electronic assessment for sanction of Loans for Micro Enterprises is operationalised.

Government of India has initiated the eMudra scheme from October 2019 wherein a borrower can file an online application for loans upto Rs. 50,000 under the Shishu Scheme of MUDRA and the loan is sanctioned instantly and the loan amount credited to the bank account of the applicant based on computerised assessment of the loan worthiness of the applicant through CRIF-a 3-digit numerical credit score assigned to the borrowers by lenders to determine the level of risk involved in lending to the borrower concerned. Bank managers and representatives are to visit the borrower within 3 months of the sanction of the loan for verification.

COVA had made this recommendation to the Finance Ministry, Government of India in 2014 and again in 2016 as part of two studies undertaken by COVA titled ‘Critical Study of Financial Inclusion in G20 Countries with Focus on India” and “Study on Status of Micro and Small Enterprises in BRICS Economies: Review and Recommendations for Advancement” for the G20 Summit of 2013 and BRICS Summit of 2016 respectively. The Studies can be accessed at: https://www.covanetwork.org/resource-centre/research-and-publications/

The specific proposals were that all banks should provide facility of online applications for DRI and MUDRA loans as is available for other loans as part of the G20 Study in 2013 and in 2016 for the BRICS Study, COVA had come up with the ideas of use of Entrepreneur OD (Over Draft) Cards that should be automatically issued to all registered Nano and Micro Entrepreneurs from INR 10,000 or $150 to INR 50,000 or $750 depending on the credit limit determined by the banks after an initial assessment.

With the introduction of the eMudra Scheme, these recommendations are now realized and can significantly improve the access of the poor to bank credit and promote small entrepreneurs like never before.

The Studies also proposed the concept of Mobile Bank Deposit Cards to be designed along the lines of Mobile Recharge Cards that will enable Nano and Micro businesspersons to deposit their daily earnings into bank accounts by using scratch cards that can be made easily and widely available at all times at negligible transaction costs. This Recommendation is under consideration and we hope it will be accepted soon.

The Entrepreneur OD Cards and Mobile Bank Deposit Cards can bring down cost for accessing credit and repayments / recovery to negligible levels and make lending to the poor profitable for banks- that alone can open up access to bank credit to Nano and Micro Enterprises and make our economies broad based and sustainable.

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Compassionate Citizenship & Responsible Activism Program of COVA To be in Telangana Schools

COVA has been organising the Compassionate Citizenship and Responsible Activism Program in schools of Hyderabad to take students beyond academic learning and expose them to a range of social issues to make them sensitive human beings and active citizens charged to make positive contributions to transform society.

In keeping with the appreciation of Dr. Ch. Hanumantha Rao, SCERT (State Council for Education, Research and Training) Government of Telangana has also endorsed and accepted the Program and it is proposed to introduce this as Pilot in 500 schools in 10 Districts of Telangana in collaboration with the SCERT from the academic year 2020-21. If the Program comes out successfully, then it could be introduced in all the 29,000 schools of Telangana State in the coming years. to make the students across the State sensitive human beings.

The students will also be encouraged to undertake micro level social transformations and community improvement through the medium of Project Works that they undertake on different social issues for a period of 2-3 months every year.

The Program involves 10 lectures in a year on different social problems, literary competitions around 15^th August providing platforms for essay writing, debates, quiz, poster and slogans and One Act Plays on social issues; and finally a Two Months Project Works Program that will provide the students direct exposure to five select social issues every year and provide them the platform to undertake activism at micro levels and transform their own surroundings and communities for better.

We are also happy to share the links of a Brief Concept Note of the Compassionate Citizenship and Responsible Activism Program ( ICAN Compassionate Brief Overview 2019) and Impact of the Program through Case Studies (ICAN Proj Works Brief Case Studies Edited ).

The Activities of Compassionate Citizenship Program Include:

1. Lectures and Awareness Sessions (10 in a year) in Schools on (i) Life Skills (ii) Personality Development and (iii) Orientation to different social issues like Communal Harmony, Rights of Citizens, Poverty, Children, Youth, Women, Elders, Differently Abled, Social Media, Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change and International Relations etc.
2. Exposure Visits to localities, bastis, villages, media houses, government offices etc.
3. Project work for students on different social issues over a period of 2 months in September – November.
4. TOT:Training of students and Teachers in methodology of social sciences and on different social issues to enable them to undertake the Project Works in an informed and scientific manner.
5. Social Activism by school students to take up small actions at community level to improve conditions.
6. Sambandh Inter Schools and Inter College competitions to be scheduled around 15^th August every year on issues of violence, war and peace to sensitise students to the problem of different forms and types of violence in society and how to strive for securing peace.
7. Facilitating students to participate in various competitions, Rallies, Walks, runs, etc. that are organised to raise awareness on social issues by different organisations.
8. Global Connects include Lectures by Experts from other countries on Skype
9. Induction and participation of selected students in Change Activists Program during Summer vacations for nurturing them towards Youth Leadership.

Theme: Violence in Society Kills the Nation

Praful Bidwai Memorial

SAMBANDH – 2019

17^thAnnual Inter School & Inter-Collegiate Competitions

To Commemmorate Hiroshima & Nagasaki Nuclear Holocaust

COVA, in collaboration with Jawahar Bal Bhavan, Dhwani, Indian Children’s Action Network (ICAN), Youth TRAC; Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace; NASIM Foundation of USA and others has been organizing SAMBANDH Program in Hyderabad every year; since 2002 to commemorate the nuclear holocaust in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II and also to celebrate the memory of Praful Bidwai, the legendary anti-Nuclear and Peace Activist.

The objective of this annual event is to sensitize students and youth to the issues of war, violence, and promotion of peace all over the world in general and in the Sub Continent in particular.  The event provides an excellent platform to sensitize students and youth to the issues of violence and need to promote and work for peace. The Themes of SAMBANDH Programs in previous years included: Can Humanity Survive the Increasing Violence in the World; Preventing Wars – Securing Peace; Beyond War and Violence: Towards a Just World and Preventing Conflicts around the World etc.

Any participants from SAMBANDH Program enlist with COVA as peace activists and collaborate in our programs.

The Theme for 17th SAMBANDH 2019 was: Violence in Society Kills the Nation.

2149 Students from 51 schools and colleges registered with 994 students participating in poster and slogan writing; 844 students in Essay Writing; 20 in Debate, 105 in Declamation, 136 in One Act Plays, and 50 in Quiz. The students had option of 4 languages: English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu.

Please CLICK HERE to see the One Act Plays.

The Topics were:

1. Different types of violence in society and their impact
2. Violence faced by Children and how can they be protected
3. What are the major conflicts in India and how can they be solved
4. Why is there conflict in Yemen

Credit goes to 30 judges from St. Ann’s College and 18 judges from other institutions who dedicated themselves to assess the performance of the 2149 participants in 6 events in 4 languages to give the results for preparation and distribution of certificates and prizes for 143 winners within 6 hours!

The Chief Guest for the Valedictory Session was Mr. Anurag Sharma, IPS, Advisor to the Government of Telangana. Ms. B. Shantishree Chartered Accountant and former Member of the Board of State Bank of Hyderabad, Dr. Sr. P. Amrita, Principal, St. Anns College; Ms.  R Bhramara Sree, and Ms. Meeta Joshi of St. Anns College, Mehdipatnam, Hyderabad were the Guests of honour.

Delivering the Valedictory Address Mr. Anurag Sharma said that it is important to be determined in life to achieve our goals and also to be sensitive to social issues and strive to become good human beings. Giving his own example he said he comes from a small Hindi Medium school but had decided to make a success of his life and could achieve his goal with determination and hard work. He lauded the messages conveyed by the students in the One Act plays and urged the students to approach the police if they come across any form of violence or injustice and assured that the police force is there to help them.

15 students from different schools and colleges also spoke at both the Inaugural and Valedictory Functions and shared their experiences in preparing for the program and how it has enabled them to recognize and understand violence in different forms that is so prevalent in society and how to deal with it. Some also spoke about the impact the program has already had in their thinking and outlook to become better, sensitive and more responsible citizens and human beings. Please CLICK HERE for brief Video Testimonies of 4 students.

Bro. Varghese Thechaneth, Secretary, COVA,  Presided and Ms. Aparna Adhikari, Joint Secretary of COVA proposed the Vote of Thanks.

All credit for the success of the program goes to over 50 volunteers from St. Anns College, 20 volunteers of COVA and the staff members of COVA all of whom work tirelessly for over a month.

Members of Dhwani, a student group of St. Anns College (that was facilitated by COVA for its formation) prepared a special Booklet for SAMBANDH 2019 titled Resource Book on Violence: Its Forms and Remedies that was released at the Valedictory Function by Dr. Sr. P. Amrita, Principal, St. Anns College and will be given to all the participants. Please CLICK HERE for the Resource Book.

The real contribution to the high quality of participation and success of the program comes from all the students who had prepared for over a month on the topics announced for SAMBANDH 2019 and their teachers and managements who encouraged and guided them.

We are happy to share that many persons have started endowments with COVA, in the names of their family members, for supporting education of girl children. Mr. K. R. Venugopal, IAS, former Secretary to 3 Prime Ministers of India has an endowment fund with COVA in his respected father’s name: The Kasba Ramiah Endowment for Education of Muslim Orphan Girls. Another Endowment is instituted in the Memory of Col. M. Nayeem Ahmed by his Family and donation for Education of Orphan Girls by Mr. Orooj Alam in the memory of his father Mr. Waheeduddin.

Mr. Anurag Sharma graciously handed over cheques for school fees for the year to the orphan girls Miss. Sumaiya Naaz of 3rd Class,  Miss Rabiya Khatoon of 7th Class and Miss Simraunnisa of 7th Class that will help them to continue their education.

About Praful Bidwai:

Praful Bidwai was a political analyst and commentator who worked throughout his life for the promotion of peace, nuclear disarmament, global justice, human rights and environmental protection. He left us on June 23, 2015, while attending a conference in Amsterdam. COVA dedicates SAMBANDH Program to celebrate his memory.

Mr. Moazzam Hussain, Vice President, MS Education Academy was the Chief Guest for the Inauguration Session along with Guests of Honour Dr. M. Radha Reddy, Director, Jawahar Bal Bhawan and Mr. Sabhajit Saha, Head, Telangana Region, Confederation of Indian Industry. Giving the Inaugural Address Mr. Moazzam Hussain lauded the initiative of having such a theme and topics for the program that will take the students beyond the curriculum and ensure their overall development.

Dr. Mazher Hussain Executive Director of COVA gave an over view of the Compassionate Citizenship and Responsible Activism Project of COVA for school and college students of which SAMBANDH is one of the Programs that aims to fill a gap in our education system that mostly focuses on training students to become efficient professionals without any orientation to or involvement with any social issues and problems. Compassionate Citizenship and Responsible Activism Project of COVA aims to fill this gap to also make students sensitive human beings motivated to engage in bringing about positive social transformations to improve their surroundings and community that could be a step in taking society towards justice and peace.

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COVA and ICAN

B.M. Kutty Memorial

15^th Annual Display of Project Works on Social Issues by School Students

 

COVA and ICAN (Indian Children’s Action Network) organised 15^th Annual Display of Project Works on different Social Issues by school students on 7^th January 2020 at Hyderabad, India. This is part of The Compassionate Citizenship and Responsible Activism Program of COVA that aims to provide an introduction to students and youth to a range of social issues to develop social sensitivity and to motivate and facilitate them to engage in initiatives for social transformation that could contribute to making of a just and peaceful society.

370 Students from 45 schools have successfully undertaken Project Works on 5 social issues this year on the topics of Water Conservation: Issues and Need; Heritage: Practices for Protection and Conservation around the World; Genius with Junk: Creating Beauty or Utility out of Waste; Life in Prison: Impact on Inmates and their Families and Life of a Farmer: Challenges and Remedies.

Students came out with impressive Project Reports that detailed the overview of the problem, methodology followed, strategy for gathering background information, detailing of field visits, key learnings, main findings, points for action and some also reported on the interventions undertaken along with advocacy initiatives with officials and elected representatives.

Inspirations from the Field:

An important part of the Project Works Program is field visits where students get to engage in systematic and in-depth interactions with different stakeholders of the social issue under study.

COVA had taken 80 students from 40 schools to a village for a field visit to meet farmers. It was surprising that only 9 of these students had visited a village and none had met a farmer before.

The interaction opened a whole new world to them of rural India including the efforts put in by the farmers and the variety and range of problems they face to produce food for us that we eat daily without even thinking about the indispensable contribution of the farmers.

One student remarked: I never thought about farmers but now I have great respect for them.

The students also met families of two farmers who had committed suicide. While one family had grown up members all taking care of themselves, the case of the other family is very tragic.

A farmer committed suicide on 26^th January 2015- the Independence Day of India- as he was not able to pay back a loan of 4 lakhs accumulated due to crop failures over years. He left behind Manjula, his wife in early twenties, a one and a half year old son and another son to be born after his death. Adding to the tragedy, the elder son also has s serious health issue with a hole in his heart. Saddled with such a tragic situation, Manjula faced the situation bravely by working in the fields and also utilising her tailoring skills to slowly pay back the loans and also ensure proper upbringing and education for her two children that costs her about 25 thousand a year.

The students on the field visit were very moved with the tragedy of Manjula and touched and inspired by her courage and all decided to help her with some financial support by undertaking a collection drive in their schools. Students of 16 schools together collected an amount of Rs.  17532/- that was handed over to Ms. Manjula by Mr. K. R. Venugopal, IAS and Chief Guest for the Valedictory Program on behalf of the students. A point to be noted is that most of the students are themselves from deprived backgrounds including from Government schools.

A student sharing her experience with issues of farmers

Reclaiming Heritage:

Students of 41 schools working on Heritage spanned out into the city to identify and document about the heritage structures that were mostly in a state of neglect. The sites they visited were Aliabad Sarai, Khurshid Jah Baradari, Qutub Shahi Tombs, Bagh Ki Bowli, Mahboob Mansion, Mecca Masjid, Charminar and others. Moved by the dilapidated condition of some of these heritage buildings, they wrote to the Department of Archaeology and Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development.

Video of a Student on Heritage: Types and Importance

A Group of 10 students from 5 schools formed a team and visited Aliabad Sarai that was constructed over 400 years back along with Charminar by the Qutub Shahi Kings as a place for overnight stay for travellers. It is now in an extremely neglected state with small shops housed there.

The plaster is peeling off with tree ingress and scrubs growing on the roof top that could soon damage the structure to the point of collapse.

A matter of great concern is that the authorities are planning to demolish this important historic structure to make way for Metro Rail and road widening.

The Students interacted with the locals to understand the history and issues and wrote a representation to the Director of Archaeology and Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development urging them to desist from demolition and take immediate steps for protection, restoration and beautification of the place that it deserves.

The students resolved to pursue the matter to ensure the Sarai regains its past glory and is treated with respect.

Creating Beauty and Utility out of Waste:

Teams working on the topic of Genius with Junk showed great ingenuity and innovation when they created a guitar, water filter, mini bio gas plant, a functional JCB with used syringes, trays, cups and saucers from paper and cardboard and a range of interesting and attractive decorative items as part of the Project Works assignment.

Video of the variety of exhibits in the Genius with Junk Section.

This slogan in the section on “Water Conservation: Issues and Need” marked the understanding gained by the students involved in this Topic. After undertaking the study and witnessing people wasting water including washing their vehicles with pipes, students from most of the participating schools went around the neighbourhood with charts showing the different ways in which water is wasted and how it can be saved in daily use by visiting 20 to 50 houses spreading awareness. In most cases they were received well and appreciated for their efforts with the assurance from the neighbours that they will not waste water.

Hear a teacher explain how the students are not wasting water after involvement in the Project

Click Here to see a Teacher Testify to the benefits of the Project Works on Social Issues for her students

The Process

Students compiled information from libraries and internet, undertook field visits that included visits to villages, heritage sites, police stations etc. They also interacted with people and officials, made notes of their experiences, came up with interventions to address the problems studied and finally prepared the Project Reports documenting the entire process under the mentorship of their teachers.

Teachers enrolled to facilitate in this Program were trained along with their students to gain systematic understanding of important social issues and initiatives to address them by using methodology of social sciences. This program provides an opportunity for the students to become aware, compassionate and responsible citizens.

The Display Program

Ms. Amala Akkineni, Actor and Activist Inaugurated the Project Works Display Program and Mr. K.R. Venugopal, former IAS was the Chief Guest for the Valedictory Function.

Speaking on the occasion Ms. Amala said that we need activism ‘to wake up the people’ as Swami Vivekananda said to work on all the issues that are disturbing us as Indians. Through activism we react towards the issues with understanding, compassion and think what can I do towards solving the problem and who can help us in doing that. As Mahatma Gandhi has said India has plenty for everyone’s need but nor for everyone’s greed.

Mr. K.R. Venugopal IAS exhorted the students to go through the Part Three and Part Four of the Constitution that could give all a clearer idea of the importance of the Project Works they have undertaken and will enable them to understand where the country is standing today and how to give a new life to India.

Dr. Sandeep Panday, Magsaysay Awardee lauded the objective of the program and said it takes students beyond mundane learning in the classrooms to engaging with and understand the real issues in society and develop the attitude to address them. Mr. George Mathews of ADP, one of the main sponsors of the program said his organisation that works in more than 140 countries across the world is committed to CSR and lauded the efforts of the students and offered to support such initiatives.

The Dignitaries who distributed prizes and addressed the students were Ms. Anjum Babukhan, Glendale Academy; Bro. K.M. Joseph, Boys Town High School; Mr. Sreedhar G, ADP; Mr. Sashidhar Reddy, YVPHF; Mr. Ganesh Reddy Aga Khan Foundation; Dr. Fakruddin Mohammed, MESCO; Mr. Khader Mohiuddin, HMWSSB; Ms. Nalini Raghuraman, British Dy. High Commission Office; Mr. Sajjad Shahid, INTACH; and Ms. Seema Gir. Mr. Subajit Saha of CII Telangana, Presided.

All the dignitaries were unanimous in their commendation of the ingenuity and hard work of the students and the remarkable reports and models prepared by them. They also complimented the students for the advocacy and actions undertaken to address some of the issues plaguing society. Mr. Subhajit Saha remarked that even if some fail to get a prize, no one should be disappointed as all are winners for the understanding they have gained and the compassion and sensitivity they have developed that could indeed make them responsible citizens and hope for the morrow.

Dedication to the Memory of Mr. B.M. Kutty- Pakistan

Biyyathil Mohyuddin Kutty (commonly known as B. M. Kutty) 15 July 1930 – 25 August 2019

B. M. Kutty was a Pakistani journalist, public servant, politician, peace activist, trade unionist, and liberal intellectual who worked for the betterment of India–Pakistan relations. He was borns to a family of peasants and landowners in Chilavil–Ponmundam village of Tirur, Malabar District of Kerala.

At the age of 19 he left his family and India for Pakistan, citing his “love for geography” as the motivation behind his move.

Kutty served as the political secretary for Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, a prominent Baloch leader and Governor of Balochistan. In 2011, former Indian bureaucrat and Minister of External Affairs Natwar Singh launched Kutty’s autobiography Sixty Years in Self-exile: No regrets; a political autobiography.

In the decade of the 1980s he was associated with the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), a political alliance formed to oppose and end the military government of President Zia-ul-Haq. He served in the capacity of the joint Secretary-General of the MRD for three years.

Kutty worked with Gandhian social and peace activist Nirmala Deshpande and when she died in 2008, he attended her funeral and brought back her ashes to consecrate in the Indus river in accordance with her wishes.

He worked for the betterment of the India–Pakistan relationship and was associated with multiple organisations that promoted peace between these two countries. Kutty co-established and was the General Secretary of the Pakistan Peace Coalition and was associated with the Pakistan–India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy.  He was a committed member of the Society for Secular Pakistan, launched in 2014.

He was closely associated with COVA and collaborated for a number of programs to promote peace in the Sub Continent like Flags for Peace, Joint Signature Campaign Against Terrorism, No, No Campaign against Militarisation in the Sub Continent and 4 Exchange Programs of Activists, Journalists, Academics, Youth and Artists from India and Pakistan to promote better understanding and peace between the two neighbours.

ADP, ELICO Pharma, NASIM Foundation, Sharp Detective & Security Services and Anmol Garden Function Hall are the sponsors for the Projects Works Program.

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Creating Systems for Pre Matric Scholarships for SC, ST & BC Students

 

Government of Telangana has provision for Pre- Matric Scholarships for SC, ST and BC Students and there was an allocation of over Rs. 330 crores during the year 2018. However only 78 BC students and 80 SC got scholarships in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The case with ST students is even worse as only 3 of them have applied in Hyderabad District till 10^th October 2019. Hence there is almost total lapse of budget allotted by the Government. This was because of the herculean efforts that were required to obtain the Caste and Income Certificates and open bank Accounts that were mandatory for applying for the Pre-Matric Scholarships. COVA realized that there were no proper systems in place, heavy corruption and no awareness amongst the students, parents and even many teachers and managements of the schools.

COVA started crafting the systems and now it is relatively easier for the students to apply for the Pre- Matric Scholarships. COVA’s Target is to enable all SC, BC & ST students of Telangana State to apply for and avail the Pre- Matric Scholarships.

Evolving the System: Challenges and Achievements

1. Putting Information in Public Domain

The EPASS Portal is created by the Government of Telangana with the objective to provide all information to students to avail different scholarships starting from Pre- Matric to foreign studies. However, The Portal had no information whatsoever about Pre-Matric Scholarships although it had all the required information about other scholarships starting from Post Matric onwards.

COVA undertook advocacy with all the 3 departments viz, SC, ST and BC to provide all the GOs and information about Pre-Matric Scholarships and with Center for Good Governance to uplink all information on the portal. Though COVA was able to obtain G.Os from BC and SC Departments, the ST department had misplaced the concerned GO. Without this, the EPASS Website could not be updated to provide any information for Pre-Matric Scholarships. After pursuing the matter with senior officials for months, the copies of all GOs were provided to COVA on 24^th February 2020 and uploaded on the EPASS Portal on 26^th February 2020.

The Updated EPASS Portal can be accessed at:       
https://telanganaepass.cgg.gov.in/PrematricLinks.do

2. Caste and Income Certificates: Surmounting the Challenges

Because of the problems faced by SC, ST and BC students in obtaining Caste and Income Certificates and the absence of proper systems and procedures, very few students from these communities could apply for scholarships online. Hence COVA undertook the initiative to facilitate the students by undertaking the following:

1. COVA identified Sanghams for different castes and sub castes who are authotised to issue Caste Letters for issue of Caste Certificates by the Government and encouraged to issue the Caste Letter to students belonging to their caste.
2. Information about locations and contact persons for Caste Sanghams where shared with the students and parents and now many have started approaching their Caste Sanghams to obtain the letters.
3. COVA was able to get approval for a process wherein the Head Masters will issue attested certificates to show the Caste of the students as per the admission records in schools and the MROs will use these for enquiry process in issuing the Caste Certificates without asking for Notarisation of the Documents. This will greatly ease the process for the students and also enable them to save on the Notary Fee that ranges from Rs. 35 (as negotiated by COVA with some Notaries) to Rs. 100 charged by Notaries.
4. Negotiated with Meseva Centers to charge the official fee of Rs. 45 for processing Caste and Rs. 45 for Income Certificate’s instead of Rs. 150 to 300 for each certificate they were demanding and that was discouraging the students. Warning from officials were also used to bring the Meseva Centers in line.

Copy of father’s caste certificate is one of the mandatory document to be submitted by students to obtain caste certificates. COVA initiated discussion with the government on this issue where families of some students are headed by single mothers.

Video Testimony of a Headmistress about the process followed by COVA

Statement of a Principal of a Government School about support for Scholarships from COVA

3. Opening Bank Accounts: Reducing the Pain and Payment

1. For some years, banks have been opening Zero Balance Accounts for students in pursuance of the directives issued by the Government of India. However, since 2018, many banks have been creating difficulties in opening of Zero Balance Accounts and demanding minimum deposits of Rs. 2000 that is very difficult for most students. As a result, many students were unable to apply for scholarships.
2. CSPs (Consumer Service Points) of banks who are authorized to open Bank Accounts were demanding from Rs. 200 to Rs.350 to open the accounts when they are supposed to do it without any charge.
3. COVA negotiated with Costumer Service Points (CSPs) of Banks for opening accounts and some agreed to open accounts with only Rs. 100 as deposit instead of Rs. 250 to 300 they were demanding and many students started opening bank accounts through CSPs.
4. However, RBI came up with a policy of compulsory submission of PAN card to open any account through CSPs in January 2020. This created an obstacle as most students do not have PAN Cards and obtaining one would cost at least Rs. 200.
5. As it is still possible to open Accounts in branches of banks without PAN Card and also with Zero Balance for the students, COVA started approaching and convincing bank managers to open Zero Balance Bank Accounts for students to enable them to access Pre-Matric Scholarships.
6. Branch Managers of Syndicate bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, Deena Bank, Punjab National Bank, Corporation Bank have agreed to open Zero bank accounts to students by coming to schools with only minimum necessary documentation for students.

With the students having to spend only about Rs. 110 for all the required documents, many students have started coming forward and engaging with the processes required to obtain all the necessary documents to apply for Pre-Matric Scholarships.

4. Guidebook for Awareness

After obtaining copies of whatever GOs were available for Pre-Matric scholarships from the Government, COVA prepared a Guidebook containing all information for accessing Pre-Matric Scholarships in a user-friendly form for easy reference by the students, parents and schools. This has helped greatly in enabling students and schools to undertake the process for applying for scholarships. Unfortunately, even the EPASS Portal does not have any such consolidated information and hence students across the State are unable to understand how to apply. COVA has represented to EPASS to upload the Guidebook prepared to their Portal. Copy of the Guidebook is attached.

The Guidebook is also translated into Telugu giving the guidelines to access the pre-metric scholarships to help the students and their parents to understand how to do the necessary documentations.

5. U-Dise Code for Schools to Facilitate Scholarships for Students: Guidance Provided

    a) Facilitation to Register for U Dise Code

Though there is a system of U Dise Code for facilitating students to apply for Pre-Matric Scholarships, most schools for Non-Minorities were unaware for the need for renewal of U Dise Codes as they did not bother to apply for scholarships in earlier years. COVA facilitated 58 schools to renew their U Dise Codes.

    b) Centralization of Registration of U Dise Code

Another issue was that the renewal of U Dise Code was in different offices for SC, ST and BC students and this also demotivated the school authorities in taking the trouble of approaching 3 different offices. Through advocacy, COVA is able to get this to be merged in one single office for all the three communities.

Key Achievements

1. COVA was able to reach out to a Total of 20, 861 students from 121 schools – both government and private – from the Minority, SC, ST and BC Communities and counselled them.

2. COVA was able to enable 4127 Minority Students from 49 private and Government schools to successfully apply for Pre-Matric Scholarships till 15^th November 2019, the last date.

3. As of 26^th February 2020, about 535 forms could be uploaded online for SC, ST and BC students. With systems slowing falling in place, we expect large number of students submitting the required documents for online submission in the coming years.

4. Extension of Last Date: COVA was able to get the last date for online uploading of scholarship forms for Minority students extended from 30th September 2018 to 31st October 2018 by making representations to the Principal Secretary Government of Telangana and Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India who has responded quickly and positively for the extension. Lakhs of students across the country benefitted from this.

5. As the U Dise Code for registration of Minority schools on the Central Government Scholarships Portal was modified this year, COVA facilitated and enabled 27 schools to register for and obtain the new U Dise Code to ensure processing and sanction of scholarships.

Part II will be available from 7^th April 2020 and Parts III & IV from 9^th April 2020