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Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh on Wednesday formally inaugurated Eco Sense, a scholarship for students that aims at nurturing ecologically sensible citizens. The scholarship has been rolled out jointly by the Local Self-Governments department and the General Education department to develop a positive attitude towards scientific waste management and environmental conservation among students and by extension improve society’s hygiene and cleanliness culture. 50,000 students Students of Classes VI, VII, VIII, IX, and XI are eligible for the scholarship of ₹1,500 during the 2025-26 academic year. It will be given to nearly 50,000 students who can become ambassadors of clean surroundings. Launched against the backdrop of the ‘Malinyamuktham Navakeralam’ scheme, the scholarship procedures begin with registration at the school level that has to be completed by November 5. The students will then be given a set of activities such as observing green protocol; segregation of waste and its scientific management; biocomposting; waste mapping; visits to houses or commercial establishments and preparing reports; making videos of alternative green products; visiting waste management plants; and so on, which have to be completed by November 20. Those selected for the scholarship at the panchayat, municipal, and Corporation levels by December 5 will then be given a second set of activities that have to be completed by January 15. An exhibition of these activities will be held at Haritholsavams in local bodies on January 26. The scholarship amount and a citation will be presented to the students on the occasion. The departments hope to bring about an attitudinal change among students, teachers, and parents through Eco Sense, say officials who also emphasise that it is not a competition. The scholarship builds on the ideas contained in textbooks brought out by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and the lessons on waste management that have been included in work-integrated education activity books for students from Classes V to X. Students have to present the ideas and knowledge in these textbooks through the scholarship activities, they say.
