Inviting Proposal for Conducting Evaluation for the Scholarship Scheme

Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities – Inviting proposal for Conducting Evaluation / Impact Assessment Study for the Scholarship Scheme Under Trust Fund

1. Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities was created vide Notification of this Ministry dated 21.11.2006 under the Charitable Endowment Act 1890, under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. The Fund is being administered by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India as the Chairperson of the Board. The two other members of the Board are the Secretaries of the Department of Legal Affairs and Department of Financial Services. One of the objectives of the Trust Fund is to provide Scholarships to Students with Disabilities for pursing Technical or Professional Courses from reputed Universities/ Colleges.
2. The implementation of the Scholarship Scheme has been entrusted to the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC), a Corporation set up in the year 1997 by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment under Section 25 of the Company Act, 1956 with an authorized share capital of Rs. 400 Crores. They have been implementing this scheme for the last four years.
3. It has been decided in one of the meetings of the Board of the Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to get an Evaluation and Impact Assessment Study of the Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities from one of the reputed agencies in India.
4. Accordingly, a Study is being proposed for the same. The Objectives of the Study are as follows :
   1. (a) To Assess the Impact of the Scholarship Scheme among students with disabilities during study period and post academic life.
   2. (b) To ascertain as to how useful/helpful the Scholarship Scheme is to the Students with Disabilities for their empowerment, knowledge enhancement and skill building.
   3. (c) To ascertain as to how useful/helpful the Scholarship Scheme is to the Students with Disabilities to cope up with difficult situations of their life.
   4. (d) To ascertain whether any Administrative and Policy Level changes are required for better functioning of scholarship scheme.
5. Presently, 2500 Scholarships are provided every year to the Students with Disabilities for pursuing Degree and Post- Graduate level Professional and Technical Courses from recognized Institutions in India. In the last four years, as many as 6500 scholarships have been awarded to students with Disabilities under the Scheme. It has been decided that the evaluation and impact assessment study may be done in respect of 650 students, which is a 10% Sample of the total Population of 6.500 beneficiaries. Out of these 650 Persons so selected, 50% (325 Students) may be canvassed through telephonic discussions with the students and the remaining 50% through personal Interview. The inputs about the students can be collected from a Sample of the institutions/colleges also.
6. The Suggested Research Methodology for the Study, which shall apply uniformly to all bidders, is given in the next few paragraphs.
7. The Sample Selection shall be on a Systematic Random Sampling Basis.
8. The first step is to list all the cities from where the Students have applied for availing the Scholarship Scheme shall be listed in chronological Order from A to Z.
9. The next step is to list all the beneficiaries of the Scholarship Scheme from a particular city in chronological Order from A to Z.
10. The third step is to give a running Serial Number to all the beneficiaries of the Scholarship Scheme, as listed above. For example, if the first City is Agartala and there are 72 beneficiaries of the Scholarship Scheme in that City, then they will be given a Serial Number from 1 to 72, in chronological order. If Ajmer is the Second City and there are twenty nine beneficiaries in Ajmer, they would be given a Serial Number from 73 to 101 in chronological order. Similar exercise has to be carried out so that each Individual in the Population gets a Serial Number from 1 to 6,500.
11. After the entire Population of the beneficiaries of the Scholarship Scheme are listed (say N), one number between 1 to N will be selected at random. Let us say, this is Serial Number, x. This person will be the first sample selected. Thereafter, we need to add N/10 to x, and so on and so forth, to achieve our Sample often percent of the Population.
12. For example, if the population (total number of beneficiaries of the Scholarship Scheme) is 6589, we need to choose a number at random between 1 and 6589. Let the number be 5134. Therefore, the beneficiary listed at SI. No. 5134 in our Population List is our first sample selected. The total number of beneficiaries divided by 10 is 65.89. Therefore, the next person selected would be 5134+65.89=5199.89. Therefore, the 5200th Beneficiary in our list is the second sample. Then we add 5199.89+65.89=5265.78. Therefore, the 5266th Beneficiary in our list is the third sample. The fourth sample will be the 5332nd beneficiary (5265.78+ 65.89=5331.67), the fifth sample will be the 5398th beneficiary (5331.67+65.89 = 5397.56), the sixth sample will be the 5463rd beneficiary (5397.56+65.89=5463.45), and so on an so forth.
13. The entire Sample List will then be listed in terms of their position (Serial Number) in the Population List and given a Sample Serial Number from 1 onwards. The odd numbers in the Sample List will be canvassed in person, while the even numbers will be canvassed through telephone.
14. A Questionnaire that would be canvassed may be submitted by the Bidders. The Research Proposal shall also include a Estimation Procedure and a detailed Tabulation Plan that would used that would used by the Bidders.
15. As far as the Institutes where these Students are studying are concerned, a Questionnaire has to be canvassed with the Head of the Institution, seeking his subjective evaluation of the Scheme and the benefits that are acquiring to the differently abled Students. This data may be analysed by any approved Scientific Method that should be specified in the Study Proposal by the Bidder.
16. As per laid down procedure for obtaining scholarships under the scheme, the students have to apply online any time in a particular academic year and submit hard copy of the application duly recommended by Head of the Institution/College along with self-attested copies of the requisite documents to NHFDC for consideration. The Scholarship amount comprises of course fees, maintenance allowance, books & stationery allowance and cost of aids and appliances are directly transferred in the account of the students with disabilities, selected for a particular course in an academic year. The detail of the scheme is available on the website of NHFDC www.nhfdc.nic.in. For further queries, you may contact Shri Shankar Sharma, Assistant Manager (Project), NHFDC at contact No. 9654909010.
17. Eligible organization having experience in conducting Evaluation/Impact Assessment Study for any Development/Social Sector Programme may send detailed proposal mentioning study methodology, expected time period, budget with break up on the lines as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, for conducting Evaluation and Impact Assessment Study of the Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities at nhfdc97@amail.com / trm2508@amail.com and hard copy may be sent to the Deputy Director General, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, 5th Floor, Prayavaran Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 by 10th November, 2016.

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Ref : http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/content/whatsnews.php