“My father is a farmer in Nalgonda and since the rains are erratic they have tried to get a bore-well installed in the fields 20-30 times without success. Despite the heavy financial burden, they have supported me throughout my education,” says 17 year-old B Bhanu Chandar, the All-India 581 rank-holder in IIT-JEE 2012.
Unassuming and happy, B. Rajya Naik tries to downplay the sacrifices he made for his son. “I do not know about IIT but I am proud of Bhanu. My elder son works as an auto driver but Bhanu managed to study,” says the farmer from Bibinagar who evades the answer as to how he managed to make both ends meet. Similar accounts from Dalit students who cleared the prestigious IIT exam bust the myth that achievers belong to corporate colleges who cherry-pick their students and groom them for the grind.
The 18 students of the AP Social Welfare Residential Junior College (IITLTCD) at New Nagole in Hyderabad are mainly first-generation learners and come from small towns and villages where IIT is not an awe-inspiring name as few are aware of what it stands for. “I am the only girl from my family to have come this far and I am quite proud of it. My younger brother also wants to join IIT coaching, now that he is in Intermediate first year,” says J. Usha Sree whose father works as a coolie in Parkal in Warangal district. After securing 3,313rd rank in IIT-JEE, the UPSC aspirant dreams of bringing education to each doorstep in her village. Her father, J. Yella Swamy quietly admits that he never thought of depriving his daughter education.
Felicitating the meritorious students and their parents at a ceremony on Sunday morning, academician Chukka Ramaiah reminded them of the need to carry on socially-relevant research which can improve the quality of lives. “The salary IITians earn is incidental. That should not be the motive of students who enter the institution. One should never forget where they come from,” Ramaiah said.
Commenting on the state of education in the country, he criticised the bill to allow foreign universities to set up shop in the country. “Large amounts of money is being pumped into corporate colleges and the move to allow foreign universities will lead to the neglect of government institutions. The talent and faculty from public institutes will move to the new universities,” he added. He also said that the corporate colleges which flaunt ranks in all prestigious competitive examinations indulge in candidate trading involving big sums.
