Chennai, Jan 5 (NationPress) The guardians of students participating in the Tamil Nadu Rural Students Talent Search (TRUST) examination are urging for an enhancement in the scholarship amount given to recipients.

At present, students who successfully pass the TRUST exam receive a scholarship of Rs 1,000 annually for a duration of four years, up until they complete Class 12.

The examination aims to motivate rural students in Class 9 to finish their school education and is restricted to those whose parents earn less than Rs 1 lakh per year.

The 2023 TRUST exam, which was originally set for December 14, has been rescheduled to February 1 due to heavy rainfall in multiple districts, as per a notification from the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examination (DGE).

There has been significant backlash concerning the minimal Rs 1,000 yearly scholarship. Rajarathinam, the father of a Class 9 student, expressed, “Without adequate incentives, students lack motivation to prepare for the exam. Rs 1,000 per year barely qualifies as a scholarship.”

Furthermore, M.K. Ushakumari from Erode stated, “Students show little enthusiasm to take the exam because the annual scholarship of Rs 1,000 is far too low.”

Educators have also voiced their concerns about insufficient preparation resources and training for the examination.

Palaniappan Rajagopal, a mathematics instructor from a government school in Nagercoil, noted, “While algebra is introduced in Class 8, the exam presents more intricate questions. Solely depending on outdated question papers is inadequate.”

Currently, Tamil-medium students receive outdated PDF reference materials, while English-medium students do not have any such resources. Additionally, numerous students from low-income families struggle to access smartphones and the Internet for exam preparation.

Various stakeholders are calling on the government to increase the budget allocation for student scholarships. Educators have highlighted the necessity for contemporary study materials, revised syllabi, and specialized training sessions to better equip students for the exam.

The TRUST exam, established in 1991 by the government in partnership with the School Education Department and Rural Development, aims to assist rural students in completing their education. The exam encompasses topics from the Class 8 syllabus but is administered to students from Classes 9 to 12 in government-recognized rural schools.

Subjects include mathematics, social studies, mental ability, and science, focusing on application-based questions to evaluate reasoning and comprehension skills.

During the 2023-24 academic year, scholarships were granted to 4,130 students who successfully passed the exam.

However, concerns have been raised regarding a decrease in the number of students achieving over 50 marks out of 100 compared to the previous year.

While the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS) provides Rs 1,000 per month for four years to students from families earning less than Rs 3.5 lakh annually, experts argue that the TRUST program offers superior opportunities specifically tailored for rural students in Tamil Nadu.

As more parents, teachers, and stakeholders advocate for increased scholarship amounts and improved resources, the government is being urged to prioritize reforms in the TRUST exam program to benefit deserving students throughout the state.