Awardees after the scholarship function of Panjab University Alumni Association at Golden Jubilee Hall on Monday. (Express photo: Kamleshwar Singh)Written by Manik Berry
The Panjab University Alumni Association organised a scholarship award function at the university’s Golden Jubilee Hall here on Monday, awarding stipends under 13 different scholarships to students from various departments and affiliated colleges. As many as 10 students received scholarships under the Sunil Kant Munjal award at the function, which was attended by SK Panthi and Santosh Panthi, one of the oldest alumni of the university. Several other alumni were also present at the venue, some of who have scholarships and awards in their name.
OP Sharma was the Chief Guest for the function. In his address at the function, he requested the scholars to remember the university’s contribution in their growth, and also, to contribute to the university to facilitate continued support to scholars even in the future. He said, the youth of today is oceans apart from the youth of his time, so they should come forward, learn from the elders and contribute to the growth of the society. On the occassion, Sharma donated his personal library, a collection of over 400 books including some written by him, to the varsity.
Furthermore, Prof Kamlesh Mohan gave an endowment fund to the university, in the name of her father, Kashmiri Lal Zakir. The fund will be used for an annual lecture that will be conducted by the Languages department. Several guests spoke at the function on issues relating to women safety, importance of art and culture, and building a language bridge for the ease of communication. They also emphasised on how humanity was the only religion for the Panjab University, which makes the university unique.
Gurpreet Singh, winner of a scholarship and student of College of Arts, Sector 10, said,”We are artists and we do a lot of practical work in the college. From morning to night I work on stone carving and clay modelling. My specialisation is in human portraits. I was the only one in my class for portraiture.”
“It took a lot of time for me to get this scholarship. I got it for the session 2017-18. The university scores mattered the most in this regard. This amount covers a year’s fee for me, which is a good thing,’’ said Aayushee Khanna, a scholar from the Department of Biotechnology.
The 2017-batch topper from the Department of History, Sunita said, ‘’I have never topped before, so I am getting a scholarship for the first-time. I had put maximum effort for the NET exams and my MA scores helped in this respect.’’ Some of the scholarship recipients and alumni were not able to attend the function due to the UGC exams.
