After retirement, this teacher has turned ‘scholarship master’

K. Narayana Naik, now 80, drives his motorbike through the villages of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, helping students avail scholarships

When K. Narayana Naik retired in 2001, he did not choose to spend a quiet life at home with his grandchildren. Instead, he decided to help students pursue higher education, by providing them access to scholarships.

The man from Karpe village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada, after teaching in more than a dozen government schools/high schools during his four-decade-old career, has been visiting government schools and colleges everyday, and providing information on scholarships to pre-matric and post-matric education. 

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Naik said that for the past 21 years, he had been able to help nearly 1 lakh students get scholarships, worth about ₹5 crore, from various trusts, foundations, State, and Central government departments. He is now fondly called as “scholarship master” by students in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

The 80-year-old leaves home at 8 a.m. on an average day and visits schools/colleges by driving his favorite Honda Dream. “As schools/colleges are located at distant places, I drive nearly 100 km everyday,” Mr. Naik says.

Mr. Naik receives a monthly pension of ₹40,000 and more than 50% of that is spent in these travels and providing monetary support for students belonging to poor families in villages.

During the last four years (2017-18 and 2011-2022), Mr. Naik visited 871 educational institutions. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21 and 2021-22, he visited 109 and 207 educational institutions.

Mr. Naik, who holds BEd and MA degrees, says there are four types of scholarships: caste/religion-based, merit-based, labor-based, and trusts/foundation-based.