Mangaluru : As many as 602 Konkani speaking students pursuing their professional education in engineering and medicine were given away Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund (VKSSF) merit-cum-means scholarships under the auspices of World Konkani Centre at a function here on Thursday.

Speaking to presspersons on the occasion, Ramdas Kamath U., chairman, VKSSF, said that the centre so far had disbursed scholarship to 12,500 Konkani speaking students pursuing professional and general education to the tune of Rs. 12 crore.

Under the study abroad scholarship for higher education abroad, VKSSF hands out Rs 1 lakh per year per student. In all, six scholarships have been awarded under this category since 2010.

To widen the scope of the scholarship fund, VKSSF in 2012 launched a new scheme to empower Kudubi, Kharvi communities awarding them PUC and degree scholarships, he said.

VKSSF also has a special programme for degree students of Konkani speaking communities in Kerala. In addition, VKSSF has also supported the scholarship programmes like Vidya Poshak, Udupi and Kharvi Vidya Nidhi, Kundapur.