Mohamed Sathak Trust was established in 1973 at Kilakarai in Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, with a mission to provide quality education to children from socially and economically backward section of the society. Shri. Faizel B. Abdul Cader, Trustee of Mohammed Sathak Trust and Director of Mohamed Sathak A. J. College of Engineering, is a young visionary with many ideas for the advancement of the Trust in providing equitable education for all.

In an exclusive interview. Shri. Faizel B. Abdul Cader shares with Marie Banu the activities of Mohammed Sathak Trust.

Can you please tell us about Mohamed Sathak Trust and its activities?

Shri. S.M. Ahamed Jalaluddin is the Founder of Mohammed Sathak Trust. He hailed from a business community in Kilakarai. His father Janab Mohamed Sathak Thambi was a noble and great Philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Kilakarai Town Panchayat and was instrumental in launching numerous welfare schemes at Kilakarai.  He also donated his personal funds for village infrastructure, such as laying of roads, sanitation facilities, and health centres.

Mohammed Sathak Trust was established in 1973 and initially offered scholarships for poor students. In 1980, Mohamed Sathak Polytechnic College, the last government aided polytechnic in Tamil Nadu, was started. Incidentally, the polytechnic does a lot of work related to NGOs and Self-help groups.  We have a community polytechnic where we empower the youth as well as the women from rural communities.

In 1984, Mohammed Sathak Engineering College—the first Self Financing Engineering College in India—was launched in Kilakarai.  Today, there are 18 Educational Institutions (9 in Chennai, 6 in Kilakarai & 3 in Ramnad) that are governed by our Trust.

Our colleges have enabled many rural students pursue engineering and many of them are now working in different parts of the world. We have to compete with a lot of commercialized educational institutions. We have to do a fine balancing act to provide a quality education for all.

Mohammed Sathak Trust took lead in providing training in alternate livelihoods for fishermen who were displaced due to the Gulf of Mannar project (Sethu Samudram). We have formed a SHG called Syed Hammeda All Women Development, and provide micro finance to self-help-group members. So far, we have disbursed around 5 crore rupees.

There has been a decline in engineering admission over the last few years. What do you think is the reason?

I feel that this is because of the mismatch between supply and demand. We have many engineering colleges, but not adequate placement opportunities. This is due to recession in the US, as many of the companies were dependent on its economy. Also, there are very few quality educational institutions and the systems are a little different in India. For example, in US or other countries, you can study engineering in credit system. Some parents are reluctant to spend for engineering degrees as the fee is expensive when compared to Arts and Science degrees.

This is only a temporary setback which will hopefully improve. A lot of students are now interested to pursue Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, because of the support offered by Central and State Governments to manufacturing and infrastructure industries.

What are the scholarships available for your students?

We started courses in Marine Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Architecture during the 80’s at in Kilakarai.  These were new streams in engineering and many students were offered scholarships in order to encourage them to pursue these courses.

We offer scholarships and fee concessions to deserving students in all our colleges. Students with merit in sports are offered free education in our technical colleges. We also help needy students’ source scholarships from National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), an initiative of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. In 2013, we organized a National Level Conference along with the NMDFC, where various schemes that are available for minority students were discussed.

What are the social work activities coordinated by your institutions?

Our colleges organises blood donation camps regularly. Students of Mohamed Sathak A. J. College of Engineering conduct computer literacy classes for villagers living near Siruseri.

Mohamed Sathak College of Arts and Science offers Master’s Programme in Social Work. Some of our students are interning for CSR projects. We are now in the process of launching a Rotaract club.

Does your colleges encourage entrepreneurship amongst students?

Considering the challenging trend in seeking placements, we encourage our students to be entrepreneurs in their own right.  Last year, we launched the Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC) at Mohammed Sathak A. J. College of Engineering. In fact, we are one of the few colleges in the State of Tamil Nadu whose EDC has been established through Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India.

We regularly organize workshops on entrepreneurship to motivate our students to become entrepreneurs. We have recently conducted entrepreneurship competitions amongst students and are networking with banks to provide financial support for their projects.

What is your advise for parents who want their children to pursue engineering?

I find some parents to be very ambitious. They are not able to understand their child’s interest and capabilities.

But, the trend is now reversing. Today, Arts and Science degrees have more scope and many students are opting for these courses. Success is possible in every field! Engineering or medicine is not the end of the world.