Blind STPM achiever gets grant for US stint

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Putra Jaya: Special-needs candidate Kaveinthran Pulanthran has a mission with a vision.

The totally blind top Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) scorer has set his sights on helping those with psychology problems. He said when he graduated as a United States (US)-trained psychologist, he intended to impart free advice to those in need.

Kaveinthran, 20, said: "There are many people suffering from psychological problems and I intend to give them free advice."

Having said that, the St John Bukit Nanas student has become highly motivated when he received a RM200,000 grant to continue his studies in the US.

On Tuesday morning, he beamed with joy and was overwhelmed with gratitude when MIC President Datuk Seri G. Palanivel handed him a cheque of RM150,000 from the Community Builders Foundation (CBF) fund and a RM50,000 cheque from the Tan Sri Manickavasagam Education fund at his office here.

The CBF, which was set up by Palanivel, is designed to help children who have been missing out on early childhood or kindergarten education and related education matters.

"In March, I had given Kaveinthran a token of appreciation cheque of RM5,000. I have also requested some allocation from the Prime Minister to assist this student to pursue his studies.

"I will assist Kaveinthran on a yearly basis so that he can realise his dreams," Palanivel, who is also Natural Resources and Environment Minister told reporters after handing over the cheques to Kaveinthran.

Palanivel said that every year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak handed out RM4 million to the education fund which was established in 2010, to provide interest-free loans and academic grants for selected cases. As of Tuesday, the fund has more than RM15 million, he noted.

Meanwhile, Kaveinthran, who was accompanied by his parents, administration officer M. Pulanthran Muniandy and teacher M. Thanamala said he was offered to pursue a four-year degree course in Psychology at the San Francisco University in the US.

"The RM200,000 grant is a boost and lifeline for me and I am so thankful to the minister (Palanivel) for that. The total fees for a four-year course is about RM750,000, or about RM236,000 a year," he added.

However, he said the university needed few requirements and a certificate of finance to be fulfilled and completed before he could be admitted there.

Asked why he chose psychology as a career, Kavienthran said there were many people suffering from psychological problems and he wanted to impart free advice for their benefit.

"Locally, there seems to be no avenue (available) for me, and my parents are looking at options in the US as it has courses on Psychology and Materials for blind students there," he said. – Bernama

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