Patna: Patna University (PU) has initiated steps to revive all its ‘defunct’ endowments to help poor and meritorious students. Most of these endowments donated to PU by different trusts and philanthropists in the past are lying almost dysfunctional.PU sources said as many as 156 endowments and ‘funds’ were created in the university to help poor and meritorious students by offering them scholarships and gold medals. On inquiry, it was found that the money lying in the bank accounts of these endowments is so meagre that it can hardly be used to disburse the scholarship or any gold medal to the students. Hence, the university is approaching the donors or their dependents for contributing some additional amount and reviving the defunct endowments. Some of them have already agreed to extend their help in getting these endowments revived, sources said.At a meeting of the Ganesh Dutt Trust Fund held recently, under the chairmanship of vice-chancellor Namita Singh, it was decided that at least four toppers of different faculties by rotation would be awarded gold medals from the annual interest of this fund. The gold medals would be awarded at the annual convocation of the university. There are nearly Rs30 lakh in the accounts of this trust.PU syndicate member and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar Tantan told TOI that earlier, the Ganesh Dutt Trust created with the fund donated by great visionary and educationist Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh used to grant loan scholarships to PU scholars visiting abroad for higher studies. However, most of the scholars, who were awarded loan scholarships from this fund, failed to repay the loan even as they attained academic heights and occupied high places in public life.More than 60 people were awarded Ganesh Dutt loan scholarships for pursuing higher studies in India and abroad from 1934 to 1968, but a majority of these beneficiaries did not repay the loan. Hence, now instead of granting loan, scholars would be awarded gold medals from this fund, said Tantan.The ‘defunct’ gold medal funds include Gait English Gold Medal Fund, Shrimati Radhika Sinha Gold Medal Fund, Shaw Memorial Medal Fund, Rabindra Nath Mukherjee Gold Medal Fund, Sifton Gold Medal Fund, I N Chandra Gold Medal Fund, Mcpherson Gold Medal Fund, Justice Kulwant Sahay Gold Medal Fund, Langat Singh Gold Medal Fund, Sir Ali Imam Gold Medal Fund, and V K N Menon Gold Medal Fund.Some other notable endowments are Indian History Culture Maharaja Darbhanga Readership Fund, Banaili Economics Readership Fund, Maharaja Darbhanga Maithili Development Fund, Bailey Memorial Library Fund and Hathwa Raj Scholarship Fund, said PU development officer Khagendra Kumar.
