Six tribal students from Jharkhand have been selected for higher studies in the UK under a overseas scholarship scheme funded by the state government.

“This (scheme) is aimed as a step towards bridging inequalities in higher education and will pave the way forward for future tribal students to apply and also seek support to study abroad. The scheme is a tribute to the visionary tribal leader Jaipal Singh Munda,” said Champai Soren, minister for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, minorities and backward classes.

Munda was the first tribal student to study overseas, when he joined the BA in PPE (politics, philosophy and economics) course at St John’s College, Oxford University, in 1922. Nearly 100 years later, six students have been chosen to study under a scholarship scheme named after Munda. The selected students will study across five universities.

“Jharkhand is the only state to provide scholarship support to students from indigenous/marginal communities for studies in institutions of excellence in higher education. The Union government has an overseas programme for SC/ST students (20 scholarships),” said an aide in the chief minister’s office.

Chief minister Hemant Soren and Champai will felicitate the students selected under the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship Scheme and their parents at a programme in Ranchi on Thursday.

The scholarship awardees are entitled to complete coverage of tuition fees along with living and other miscellaneous expenses. Under this scheme, every year a maximum of 10 students will be selected from the ST category residing in Jharkhand. For the first batch of the scholarship, six students have been selected, who are going to begin their study programmes in five different universities in the UK in September.

The overseas scholarship scheme, announced by the chief minister on December 29 last year, has a provision to provide all financial support to 10 tribal students of Jharkhand intending to do a one-year masters or a two-year MPhil in select 15 top universities of the UK across 22 courses. The state government notified the scheme on March 7, 2021.

Among the selected students, Hercules Singh Munda is going to pursue an MA at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, while Ajitesh Murmu is going to study for an MA in architecture at the University College London. Akanksha Mary Balmuchu has been selected for an MSc in climate change science and management at the Loughborough University, while Dinesh Bhagat will pursue an MSc in climate change, development and policy at the University of Sussex.

Apart from this, Anjana Pratima Dungdung has been selected for an MSc at the University of Warwick and Priya Murmu will pursue an MA in creative writing and the writing industries at the Loughborough University.

“I am glad to be a part of the first cohort of Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Scholarship Scheme. I believe that it is a very important step by the government to help tribal students pursue higher education through this scholarship. This will not only allow tribal students to showcase their talent on the global stage, but also pave the way for progress of others,” said Anjana, a resident of Gumla district.