TIRUCHY: D Rahini (17), a Dalit student with disability from the Government Adi Dravidar Welfare Higher Secondary School, Milaguparai, has become the first student from Tiruchy’s 17 Adi Dravidar Welfare (ADW) schools to gain admission to a National Law University (NLU). She secured a seat at Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Nagpur, in the second round of JoSAA counselling.
Rahini, who scored 300 out of 600 in the Class 12 exam, ranked 3,724 in the Scheduled Caste category and 185 in the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Her education and hostel expenses will be fully covered under the Naan Mudhalvan scheme, officials said.
“This opportunity means everything to me. I want to uplift my family,” said Rahini, who lost her mother and is raised by her grandmother. Her father, S Dayalan, works in a small hotel.
Headmaster V Paneerselvam said the school conducted regular entrance coaching for students. “Rahini’s success shows what guided effort can achieve,” he added. Two other disabled students from Karur’s Kottaimedu ADW school also cracked CLAT this year - Vishnu V (NLU Assam) and Akilan M (NLU Odisha). A senior official of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department hailed Rahini’s success as a milestone in inclusive education.