CHENNAI: Ramya (17) will be the first graduate from the Irular community settlement in Coimbatore district. She secured an MBBS seat in a self-financing college under the 7.5 per cent reservation for government school students on Thursday. But she looked more worried than happy after the counselling because her family cannot afford her education.
Their school headmaster and teachers helped them prepare for NEET and take medical seat. Now they are looking for Parent Teachers Association (PTA) and a few philanthropists financial support to pay their college frees.
Ramya secured a seat in PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research and Bistis Prisca at Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College, Perambalur. Their teachers had made plans to help them by raising funds from their school teachers, PTA and others even before the Chief Minister announced scholarship.
A Bellie, headmaster of the school said that they wanted to uplift the students from less privileged sections and aimed to get them professional education. “We had already planned to pool in funds through PTA and from other teachers. After coming to know that the CM announced a scholarship, we are looking at ways on how to avail it for the students and how much more we need to arrange,” said Bellie.
Ramya and Bistis Prisca finished their class 12 exams this year and are first-time NEET takers. Ramya scored 145 marks in NEET and 421 marks in class 12, while Bistis secured 167 in NEET and 487 in her boards. “My parents are tailors. How can they pay fees in lakhs? I would have joined BSc Physics or some other course if not MBBS.
If not for our school headmaster and encouragement of teachers and their assurance of financial help, I wouldn’t have taken the seat,” said Prisca, who hails from SC community in Thayanur village. Meanwhile, Ramya’s parents eke out a living by doing garden work. She said she had to struggle a lot as their settlement in Water Board, Coimbatore, did not have power supply.
“I used to study under a lamp or solar bulb. It becomes even more difficult during winter,” she said. The girls’ Tamil teacher R Arul Shiva said only because of the 7.5 per cent reservation the students got the seat. “They didn’t go for any NEET coaching. We helped them prepare by giving study material and attend government online classes, that benefitted them.”