Hello Everyone,

 These are the minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd November 2003 at 10.00 am, with the candidates who comes under Asha Scholarship and Sowbhagya Trust.

 Venue:

            Asha Chennai Home (T58) 

Attendees:

Asha Volunteers:   Rajaram, Sundaram, Vijaya Sundaram, Sathya Priya, Jeba

                                 Durai,Ananth,Sekar,Viswanathan.

Participants:

                 The following table contain the list of students who have attended the meeting as the participants from the projects of Asha Scholarship and Sowbhagya Trust.

Purpose of the meeting:

 The main purpose of these meeting was,

1. Discuss with the college students regarding their plans for their future.
2. Provide the opportunity for the 11^th and 12^th standard students to understand the choices they have in terms of college education.
3. Provide opportunity for the 11^th and 12^th standard students (and the volunteers) to understand the college admissions process, fee structure etc.

General:

 A week ahead, a formal letter was posted to the candidates who belong to the categories of  higher secondary classes(XI and XII) and college going students in order to inform about the meeting on 2^nd November 2003 who comes under Asha Scholarship and Sowbhagya Trust.  These meeting was generally an interactive one and informal one.  Almost everybody shared about their college and education pattern involved. The meeting was started at 10.00 am, beginning with the introductory part.

Minutes:

1. Introduction:  Rajaraman explained the purpose of the meeting and then each volunteer and each student introduced themselves to the group

2. The college going students shared their experiences regarding the process involved in admission and fees structure at their. There was a discussion related to the fees charged by different colleges for the different courses and the differences between evening/day colleges, govt aided vs. autonomous colleges etc. Each one shared information about their college and scope of the courses which they are doing.  Asha volunteers also provided guidance about the current condition of employment and also the scope of other fields and made an attempt to answer their queries. 

3. 11^th and 12^th standard students talked about their future plans and in particular about what they are going to study. I found that they have some plan for the future but it was not a focused one because they have two/three options in mind. It was often based on improper information and also certain pressures from parents side.

4. These meeting provided certain amount of knowledge about the procedures involved in admission, bank loan, fees structure etc.  Most of the students felt that they benefited from this meeting.  They wanted more such meetings. The students were asked to give up their feedback within three days.

 (Sathyapriya)