Over 10,000 students benefited under VIT’s scholarship scheme: VIT Chancellor

The founder and chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) G. Viswanathan on Tuesday (October 14, 2025) said that more than 10,000 poor students were given scholarships worth ₹12 crore under its various flagship schemes, like Support the Advancement of Rural Students (STARS) and Higher Education for All, for more than 15 years.

Addressing mediapersons at the campus in Vellore, Mr. Viswanathan said that despite the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of Tamil Nadu being 47%, which is above the national average of 28%, the enrolment ratio in northern districts of the State remains low. As a result, economic growth of the region stalls due to poor enrolment, especially for higher studies., he said. “VIT has established Higher Education for All Foundation to bridge the gap in enrolment ratio between northern districts and the rest of Tamil Nadu. Schemes like STARS programme have been implemented to uplift rural students in erstwhile North Arcot districts, which are economically and educationally backward,” he said.

The VIT Chancellor said that education significantly impacted per capita income. For instance, Kerala, with a smaller population and area than Bihar, has a per capita income of $3,800, compared to Bihar’s $810. It underscores the transformative power of education, which Tamil Nadu aims to exemplify, he said.

In his interactions, Sekar Viswanathan, Vice President, VIT, said that the institute excels in research with over 4,000 students are pursuing PhD programmes in the campus with stipends ranging between ₹35,000 and ₹50,000 per month. In National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, VIT Vellore has consistently been among India’s top 20 universities since 2016, he said.