"Become a pride mentor of Progress with MEDS"
Student Support Program
Overview
MEDS
Students Support Program provides scholarships and financial assistance
to deserving and needy students to start or continue basic, higher or
vocational education. A well defined operational process and a network
of committed volunteers in India ensures effective
implementation of this program.An individual student seeking financial assistance from MEDS must be in a situation where he/she cannot start or continue his/her education for lack of funds. Such determination is made by MEDS's volunteers based on a set of defined criteria and guidelines.
Support covers expenses like school/college fees, books, study materials, uniform, commuting, etc. Support is provided for one year at a time. Continuation of support is decided every year based on student’s performance and any changed circumstances. A MEDS volunteer is attached to each supported student as a mentor, who guides the student as needed, periodically monitors his/her studies progress, and coordinates expense reimbursements. Appropriate review and monitoring mechanisms are implemented to ensure effective and transparent operation of the program.
Students Selection Criteria
In general, a student seeking financial assistance from MEDS
must be in a situation where he/she cannot start or continue his/her
education for lack of funds. Such determination is made based on a set
of defined guidelines, some of which are listed below.- MEDSs considers supporting the education/training of the students who wish to but cannot start or continue one of the following due to lack of funds: Basic or primary education (upto grade V), secondary/higher secondary education (from grade VI to grade XII), graduate degree, post graduate degree, professional qualification/diploma, vocational training.
- If the student is seeking support for a professional qualification/diploma or a vocational training, the nature of that course/diploma/degree is taken into consideration. MEDS supports such education/training that is likely to genuinely enhance the student’s prospects for employment or entrepreneurship, and not that which a student might want to pursue as a mere hobby or interest.
- When determining whether or not a student has funds available to support his/her education/training, the following is considered as available sources of funds for the student: Total income of the students's family, student's own total earnings, if any, any scholarships or grants the student already receives.
Selection, Review & Monitoring Process
Application for support may be submitted by a student himself/herself,
or by a family member, relative, teacher, etc. A program management
group in India reviews each application and approves or disapproves
support based on the defined criteria and guidelines. Often a volunteer
meets the student and his/her family to assess the circumstances and
need before a decision of support is made. Upon commencement of support
the student or his/her family is required to provide a proof of
residence and proof of enrollment in the school/college/institute, for
example a receipt of fee deposit.A MEDS volunteer who lives in the student’s city or region is associated with each supported student as a mentor. Each mentor meets each student associated with him/her once in four months, and discusses the student’s progress in studies, marks/grades obtained in tests, difficulties faced, etc. and provides guidance as needed. The mentor submits a progress report of the student after this meeting.
Students or their families reimburse their expenses with the help of their mentors. Detailed records are kept of all funds usage in each case, including the date and purpose of each expense. Students are required to provide receipts/bills for all major expenses.
Support to each student is reviewed for renewal once a year. Factors like student’s performance in studies, any change in student’s family’s income, mentor’s feedback, etc. are taken into consideration when making the decision to renew support.
MEDS management team guides the program implementation in India. The management team in INDIA receives a monthly update of all supported cases, student progress reports and funds usage. The program management group in India may also seek the opinion of the EXPERT team in deciding support for some cases. The program management group in India and the management team in INDIA communicate regularly. Members of the management team in INDIA also review and guide operations in India during their periodic personal visits to India.
Most operational processes of MEDS are well defined and documented. MEDS team has built simple and effective IT systems for efficient functioning. For instance, all support applications, decisions and progress reports are entered online and maintained in a database directly accessible to the management teams in India.
Funds Usage
- All proceeds collected by MEDS are used for its stated purpose and for running its operations. Officers and volunteers of MEDS do not receive any remuneration for their work.
- Contributions made to MEDS are TO BE TREATED AS exempt in INDIA, MEDS is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization .
- MEDS is very careful in selecting genuine projects and activities towards which its funds will be used. To ensure that, MEDS has defined a set of eligibility criteria for students to receive financial support from MEDS and MEDS regularly monitors its programs to ensure appropriate usage of funds.
- We are committed to transparency of operations. We frequently publish the details of our programs and activities on our web site. We also provide our contributors an overview of our funds utilization upon request.
Make a Contribution
We appreciate your participation in MEDS for development progress in Mewat . Contributions to MEDS can be made by sending us a check/draft/cash against receipt. Shortly after receiving your contribution, we will send you a letter acknowledging the same. The contact information you provide will not be shared with any other organization or entity.
If you live in India and would like to work as a volunteer of MEDS , please contact us.
Please make a payment by clicking on the the button contact us and drop a mail.
