Institution Profile

Foundation for Academic Excellence and Access, Delhi

FAEA (estb. 2002) has signed partnerships with 19 renowned colleges across India to practise targeted affirmative action in favour of students from marginalised sections of society

The oversight committee chaired by former Karnataka chief minister Dr. Veerappa Moily, which is currently engaged in the unenviable task of carving out an additional quota of 27 percent for OBCs in Central government funded institutions of higher education without reducing the annual merit students’ quota, has a model to follow. It’s the Delhi-based Foundation for Academic Excellence and Access (FAEA). A voluntary organisation, FAEA facilitates access and admission of genuinely needy, high-potential students from socially and educationally backward classes into institutions of higher education through targeted scholarships.

Thus far FAEA (estb. 2002) has granted scholarships to about 550 students. In addition it has forged partnerships with 19 renowned colleges across India to practise affirmative action in favour of students from marginalised sections of society. "The objective of FAEA is to provide socially and educationally backward students access to excellent institutions in the interest of social equity and justice. FAEA was promoted with a Ford Foundation project grant of Rs.28 crore for five years," says Prof. V.R. Mehta an alumnus of Cambridge University and former vice-chancellor of Delhi University who is currently the member secretary of FAEA.

Adds Mehta: "Post-independence India has been remiss in not developing a higher education delivery system that marries the finest young minds from deprived sections of our society with the best institutional learning."

According to Mehta, access of the socially and educationally backward to higher education can’t be attained solely by reservations or fee concessions. "First we must encourage interest. Out of about 20,000 scholarship applications we get annually, the number from Bihar, UP, Orissa, MP, Rajasthan is abysmally low, despite our best publicity efforts including advertising in the national and vernacular press. For three successive years, the application figures from these most populous states have not improved. There is total hopelessness and demoralisation among the socio-economically disadvantaged classes in these states. Therefore capacity reservation is not the answer. The focus has to be on qualitatively acceptable foundational education, followed by targeted scholarships and support systems," he says.

Accordingly FAEA provides need-based scholarships to students with socio-economic disadvantages, which enable them to pursue undergraduate courses in arts/ commerce/ science/ medical/ engineering and other disciplines at a university/ institution/ college of their choice anywhere in India. Based on the American model, FAEA scholarships are not limited to tuition fees, books and accommodation. It includes enough pocket money for scholars to lead a middle class life, so that they develop the confidence to compete with more affluent students.

Targeted scholarships apart, FAEA’s unique characteristic is its Pathways Programme, through which it initiates a countrywide search for talented youth among the poorest of the poor; places them in select member institutions, facilitates supplementary academic and life skills coaching and helps them land jobs commensurate with their qualifications.

Every year FAEA offers 150 national three-year scholarships to partner colleges (19 thus far, see box). Applicants are assessed on the basis of a ‘deprivation index’ which accords weightage to factors such as caste, household, income, academic back-ground (with rural weightage), gender etc. No single factor is a criterion for selection. Out of the 550 FAEA scholars, 150 belong to the parental income group of less than Rs.10,000 per year. Another 282 students are from the parental income group of Rs.10,001- 25,000. The foundation prides itself on identifying genuinely meritorious students who would not have been able to pursue higher studies unless funded by FAEA. "Some of these students are children of agricultural labourers and coolies, porters, tea stall owners and so on," says Mehta

Moreover institutional support is given to partner colleges to enable them to build the necessary infrastructure and create inclusive environments. Partner colleges receive substantial annual grants on the understanding that they will survey their local environments to shortlist talented students. Workshops and special programmes are regularly organised to enable such students to compete with their more privileged peers.

FAEA has launched a massive countrywide crusade for mobilisation of additional resources. It has invited partnerships with foundations, institutions and corporate houses in its quest to empower through excellence. FAEA scholarships have enabled students to complete their courses successfully without financial constraints. Some of them have found employment in prestigious organisations.

"We are convinced that the FAEA scholarship programme combined with a support system based on a deprivation index is a far better strategy for genuine empowerment than caste-based reservations," says Mehta.

Application and admission

The Foundation for Academic Excellence and Access (FAEA) offers 150 three-year scholarships annually to socially and economically disadvantaged students to pursue higher education in associate colleges.

The scholarships are advertised countrywide in major dailies including regional language newspapers. Principals of the Navodaya Vidyalayas and government schools are alerted through letters. Applications received are assessed on the basis of a deprivation index. Shortlisted candidates are tested for logic and general awareness. The final selection is on the basis of a personal interview with a selection committee.

Associate colleges where the 150 students are placed have developed an outreach programme to ease their integration into the mainstream. Several of them have also set up language laboratories and offer remedial coaching. Associated colleges include St Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad; St Antony’s College, Shillong; Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Thiruchirappalli; Savitri College, Ajmer; Sahyadri Science College, Shimoga; Rama Krishna College, Madhubani (Bihar); Loyola College, Chennai; Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi; Jai Hind College, Dhule; Asutosh College, Kolkata; College of Social Work, Mumbai; Presidency College, Kolkata; Jyoti Niwas College, Bangalore; Farook College, Calicut; St Xavier’s College, Ranchi; Bundelkhand University, Jhansi; and Lady Doak College, Madurai.

For further information visit www.faeaindia.org or write to FAEA B-42 Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi-16. Ph: 26965211.

Autar Nehru (Delhi)

University of Westminster, UK

Particularly in the fields of asian studies, law and linguistics, communications, cultural and media studies, university of westminster is commonly acknowledged as one of the top ten british varsities 

Founded in 1838 as Britain’s first polytechnic and graduated into a full-fledged university in 1992, University of Westminster combines a distinguished history of vocational education with contemporary degree programmes. Spread across four campuses in trendy London and Harrow, Westminster offers its huge enrollment of 23,000 students studying across ten academic schools, an education described as "modern, dynamic and practical". Of the 24-subject competencies assessed in recent years by UK’s Quality and Assurance Agency, 42 percent were rated excellent and two subjects — psychology and tourism — were awarded the maximum rating. Particularly in the fields of Asian studies, communications, cultural and media studies, law and linguistics, Westminster is commonly acknowledged as one of the top ten British varsities.

Moreover with over 4,000 of its students from 160 countries, Westminster is also among the top 15 most popular higher education destinations for foreign students. The university’s "outstanding achievement" in overseas trade has been recognised with a second consecutive Queen’s Award for Enterprise (2004 and 2005). A distinguishing feature of Westminster is its Centre for Excellence in Professional Learning from the Workplace to promote and develop the integration of experiences and learning from the workplace into the academic environment for students and faculty.

"For more than 165 years, we have led the development of education in emerging technologies and modern professional practice, designing our programmes to meet the needs of London’s global economy and employers worldwide. We can offer that rare combination: practical, relevant knowledge honed by the transferable skills of multinational and multicultural teamworking, communication and leadership that you are likely to need in the future, whether for your own or for your organisation’s benefit," says Dr. Geoffrey Copland, vice-chancellor of the University of Westminster.