KOCHI: The state government will cover the educational expense for SC and ST students who want to become pilots. For this, K Radhakrishnan, Minister of Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes of Kerala, took the initiative and launched the 'Wings' project.

No matter how many students get admission in this category at Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, the course fee of Rs 25.3 lakh will be given as a scholarship through the 'Wings' scheme.

A total of 25 students will be admitted here. Of this, the government will pay the fee for any number of students hailing from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Until now, scholarships were given only to the first-place holders in the special examinations conducted for the students belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Last time, Sankeerthana Dinesh from Kannur's Taliparamba got the first rank. However, SB Saranya from Wayanad, Adityan from Alappuzha and KP Vishnu Prasad from Kozhikode met K Radhakrishnan, along with Sankeerthana. This paved the way for the government to cover their fees as well. For this, a project called 'Wings' was launched.

But no one from the Scheduled Tribes has come forward to avail this benefit. Minister Radhakrishnan is hoping that at least one of them will become a pilot next time.

Pilot Course

Admission: In September

Seat: 25

Fee: Rs 25.3 lakhs

Training: 200 hours

Qualification: Plus Two Mathematics, Physics