Hyderabad: Amidst the perils of the second wave of Covid-19, in a bid to support aspiring public policy talent in the country, Kautilya School of Public policy has set aside about 30 percent of its cohort revenue as scholarships for their first incoming batch which commences in July 2021.
In a bid to churn the best policy leaders of tomorrow, Kautilya has created a platform where policy education can be availed by students in the form of need-based scholarships. About 50% of the incoming students will receive scholarships in the brackets of 25 percent, 50 percent, and 100 percent waiver of the total tuition fee for their post-graduate program in Public Policy.
Among the students who have been awarded this category of scholarships, Mr. Pritish Anand has secured a 50 percent waiver off his fee while Mr. Mohammed Habeebullah, Mr. Waseem Ahmad, and recently a Kolkata student, Ratnadeep Chakraborty have secured a 100 percent waiver off their fee each. The selections were done based on their applications, interviews, and their essay submissions.
“The values at Kautilya remain strong in providing a space where students across the country will be allowed to explore and learn the foundations of policies that can be applied in a practical method. We believe that finance must not be a deterrent in a student’s need to learn and become citizens that the country will be proud of. Our need-based scholarships created a window of an opportunity where students centered on their will to create a difference and academic record are welcomed to study and acquire a post-graduate qualification in Public Policy”, said Mr. Sridhar Pabbisetty, Founding Director of the institute.
Mr. Pritish Anand, hailing from Bihar has been an education sector leader with experience of 6.5 years as a teacher, program manager, curriculum designer, and leadership coach for those in the education sector. Sharing his views, Mr. Pritish Anand said, “My experience in teaching children from economically challenged backgrounds has taught me the value of social equity and justice. Policy education empowers a person to know their rights and the MPP course at Kautilya will give me this opportunity at policy creation and implementation on a larger scale. This program will give me the needed knowledge on how policies are formulated, refined, differentiated for different contexts, and are eventually implemented in society.”
Mr. Waseem Ahmad from Andhra Pradesh is a qualified undergraduate in electronics and communication engineering. Innovative thinking and social service towards the development of the marginalized section is what Mr. Ahmad strives for and sees public policy as his next step to design inclusive policies promoting diversity and representation.
Mr. Waseem Ahmad said, “The pandemic taught me the importance of social development in more ways than one. Migration of people, the constant struggle of the underprivileged and setting up temporary reliefs in the form of meals and ration kits led to realize what long-term solutions can do for a country with a population of more than a billion people. My efforts towards this program will help me gain perspective in the methods necessary to build a country strong enough to provide for its people and weather trying times in a holistic manner.”
Mr. Mohammed Habeebullah, from Vizag, completed his bachelor’s in business administration from GITAM and found policymaking to be a source of transformational change in the country where the pandemic and its repercussions on people were observed across the world.
“Policymaking and development of the country is what I am most passionate about. Changing me from an introvert to finding out what that who found it fascinating things research and social development can do, I believe that this scholarship will provide me the needed groundwork in the creation of policies that are representative of every individual in India”, said Mr. Mohammed Habeebullah.
Kautilya School of Public Policy with its 2-year, full-time residential MPP, aims to bring together students from diverse disciplines and allow time to internalize and apply key concepts. The institute has opened admissions with an application submission deadline of 31 May 2021 and encourages students to be the changemakers who are passionate about shaping India for the better.
