The Students Islamic Trust (SIT) ....Welcomes You...

Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, introduced its scholarship programme in many countries including India in the year of 1983 with a view to promote professional education among Muslim community. This emerged as the main source of our programme.

From the very beginning, the Students Islamic Trust was entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring IDB scholarship programme in India and since then it has been discharging this work most successfully. As for the financial assistance to meritorious and needy Muslims students pursuing studies in professional courses like Medicine and Engineering, 1163 have graduated and settled down in their professions after getting IDB Scholarship through SIT since 1983. At present 645 students who are pursuing professional studies in various disciplines are receiving IDB scholarship through SIT. Our graduates spread over the country and other parts of the globe fulfill a lot of community’s aspirations and in a way create one of the biggest network of educated Muslims engaged in the same kind of activities individually or through various agencies.

Medicine: MBBS, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary, B.Sc. Nursing including Bachelor Degree in Unani and Ayurvedic Medicine.
Engineering: B.E., BSc., Engineering, Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Food Technology, Computer Science and Communication.
Management and Accountancy: MBA, CA, etc.

Meritorious but economically weaker students belonging to Muslims community can seek admission in the first year of the Bachelor degree (Full time) course in the above-mentioned fields of study and apply for the IDB scholarship. Commencing from 2000-01, the management and accountancy courses are also included in the list.

CONCEPT OF THE PROGRAMME

The IDB Scholarship Programme is more than just a scholarship programme in the traditional sense, i.e. as a straight financial assistance to needy and qualified students. It is also a tool for the improvement of the social and economic conditions of the Muslim communities as a whole. It is a scholarship programme and a community development programme at the same time, since the scholarship is given as an interest-free loan (qardh-e-hasna) to the students but as a grant to the Muslim communities to which they belong to in the shape of its refunds.

Besides, the students are also required to take part in the development of their communities through their respective profession. The repaid fund is recycled, to provide scholarships for other deserving students from the same community, to complement the IDB Scholarship Programme and to ensure continuity of the Programme in the long run, while the community development services rendered by the students will contribute to the overall development of the community.

SIT as the counterpart organization of the IDB Scholarship Programme in India, a non-member country, invites applications for the IDB Scholarship Programme through advertisements in the daily and weekly newspapers, in June and July every year and sends information to Islamic Centres, colleges and institutions in the country.
Application forms are distributed from SIT office as will as from offices of regional coordinating societies. The forms are collected back in the same manner. The last date of submission of application forms for IDB Scholarship happens to be 1st week of October every year.
The criteria for selection of candidates are economic need, academic performance and community commitment.
For IDB Scholarships, applicants are interviewed in order to get the correct picture of their economic condition and Islamic bent of mind and then to judge the eligibility for the scholarships.
Statewide merit list of the candidates interviewed are prepared under the supervision of the subcommittee and thereafter all the applications eligible and rejected along with the list of the candidates are forwarded to IDB, Jeddah for final selection.

ISLAMIC EDUCATION SEMINARS

Apart from providing scholarships, SIT under the IDB’s C & G Programme also undertakes the programmes of Islamic Orientation for the students with a view to fulfill the basic need of Islamic understanding in the prevailing campus atmosphere and to develop an Islamic personality for the future leadership of the Muslim community. These programmes are conducted region-wise every year for the students getting IDB Scholarships as well as for the applicants, at least in each state capitals of the country. So far the trust has organised 82 seminars, 30 for scholarship recipients and graduated, and 52 for applicants. The basic objectives for organizing such seminars and the topics covered are as under:

Objectives:

To increase student’s faith, knowledge and commitment to Islam.
To develop skills required for Islamic Da’wah work.
TO Develop sense of responsibility for involvement in community affairs.
To requires the sills of planning, managing and evaluating community development projects.