British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Nick Low lauded the Jharkhand government’s overseas scholarship programme for tribal students on Thursday, the day chief minister Hemant Soren presided over a programme to felicitate the first batch of six students handpicked by the state for 100 per cent scholarships to pursue higher studies in five universities of the UK.

The programme also marked the formal launch of the scholarship scheme that was announced last year and notified in March. Selection of students was completed on September 6.

In a letter addressed to Hemant, the envoy appreciated the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship Scheme that has been designed to help students from tribal communities to go overseas to pursue higher studies. He also expressed his sadness at not being able to be a part of the felicitation event.

The first group of students who will be traveling to the UK for higher studies, thanks to the Jharkhand government's overseas scholarship scheme, with chief minister Hemant Soren in Ranchi on Thursday. The Telegraph picture

“I sincerely congratulate you for steering this visionary initiative to bridge the inequalities of access to higher education faced by marginal communities in India. Your leadership and the efforts of the state government to drive this knowledge partnership between Jharkhand and the United Kingdom deserve the highest praise. The legacy of Jaipal Singh Munda, who started his Oxford BA programme a century ago will, I believe, now be taken forward both through this batch of scholars and subsequent beneficiaries,” Low wrote.

In his response, Hemant wrote, “I acknowledge your heartfelt message and my heartiest thank you to you for your kind words. This is a beginning and we look forward to working with you and the British high commission on education, sports, climate change and other allied areas.”

At the function, Hemant noted that Jharkhand was the first state in the country to start such a scholarship programme. "While the Union government runs foreign scholarship schemes, children of the common man rarely get a chance. However, with our scheme, children of poor tribals and the marginalised can also dream of flying high and pursuing studies in global universities," he said.

Hemant recalled that the idea came to him while chairing a programme on world indigenous day. “I am happy that my officials have walked the extra mile overcoming all technical odds to roll out this scheme. It is just a start,” he said, adding that Rs 10 crore had been allocated to begin with.

Jaipal Singh Munda, he noted, was the first tribal to study in Oxford a century ago. "He is not just an icon of this state but for the whole country. He also played a key role in the making of the Constitution of India. He was also a legendary hockey player. Jharkhand has many such legends. By running programmes in their names, we intend to keep their legacies alive.”

Under the scheme, the state government will send 10 tribal students every year to 15 notified universities in the UK to pursue doctoral or masters programmes across 22 disciplines.

The first students to be selected for the scheme include Hercules Singh Munda (MA in linguistics, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London), Ajitesh Murmu (MArch-bio-integrated design in University College London —The Barlett School of Architecture), Akanksha Mary Balmuchu (MSc in climate change science and management, Loughborough University), Anjana Pratima Dungdung (MSc in international relations, University of Warwick), Dinesh Bhagat (MSc in climate change, development and policy, University of Sussex), Priya Murmu (MA in creative writing and writing industries, Loughborough University).

An official of the state tribal welfare department said there were 22 applicants for the scheme, of which six were selected by a panel of five professors. The remaining four students would also get selected soon, he said. “We only selected students whose admission was confirmed,” he said, adding that the government would bear all the costs including air fare, tuition fees, local expenses etc.

The students are scheduled to fly out later this month.

Hercules Singh Munda, who is from Ranchi said, “I am a second generation learner from my family. After completing engineering in IT from BIT-Mesra in 2015, I worked at the Outlook Group in Delhi. I also worked as a research intern in IIIT-Hyderabad in 2019. Later, I started a company named TriLingo, a digital learning platform that enables tribal students to learn in their mother tongue. I will now pursue a masters degree in linguistics so that after I return I can contribute to my state and community.”