The alumni from the 1979 batch of College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) have donated over ₹1 crore to help the Alumni Association of CEG (AACEG) create a corpus for helping students in need of financial assistance to pay their hostel fees.
Earlier this week, a few members of the 1979 batch handed over a notional cheque to Anna University Vice-Chancellor R. Velraj to mark the donation. Humayun Kabir, of the 1979 batch and an executive member of AACEG, said the alumni association had learnt that while most students did not have difficulties paying tuition fees, many, especially those from rural areas, struggled to pay the hostel fees. He said his batch, which recently met to mark their 45th year of their graduation, decided to create the corpus to help such students.
Pointing out that alumni associations in institutions like Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) have created a huge corpus, AACEG has initiated measures to increase its corpus to help CEG. “This is the first time a batch has collected more than ₹ 1 crore,” he added.
Of the ₹1 crore, ₹23 lakh was donated by Mani, who came first in the State in Class 10. “At the time, he did not have the means to continue his studies. A person mentored and helped him,” Mr. Kabir said, adding that Mr. Mani donated the money in the name of his wife and the mentor.
