RANCHI: A student of the government Kasturba school in the Maoist hotbed of Khunti in Jharkhand has qualified for JEE Mains. The girl's father is serving a jail term while her mother works as a daily wage labourer.
Interestingly, 23 girl students of Kasturba Gandhi Residential School, Kalamati had appeared for the JEE Mains 2024 examination, out of which, 22 students successfully qualified in the examination.
Out of those 22 girls, four have also qualified for JEE Advance.
Sapna Kumari secured rank 15107 with 59.89 percentile, while Alyssa Hassa secured rank 16211 with 54.84 percentile. Riya Kumari and Priya Kumari have secured ranks 34960 and 81254 respectfully.
According to the District Education Officer, out of the 23 students who had appeared for IIT JEE Mains, 22 have successfully qualified for the examination and will get admission to any of the government engineering colleges in Jharkhand.
Out of those 22 girls, 4 have also qualified for JEE Advance, she said.
“Among the students who have succeeded in IIT JEE, father of one student is currently lodged in jail and her mother has passed away, whereas mother of another student works as daily wage labourer,” said District Education Officer Aparupa Sinha. Most of the students studying here come from remote areas and humble backgrounds, she added.
According to DEO, due to the programme -- ‘Sapnon Ki Udaan’ being run by the district administration, economically weak girl students living in remote areas have got a better opportunity to move forward.
Girls also acknowledge the initiative taken by the then Deputy Commissioner Suraj Kumar.
“The coaching provided by the district administration under the programme ‘Sapnon ki Udaan’ has proved to be a boon for the girl students at Kasturba Gandhi Residential Schools. I have qualified for JEE Advanced, now the next goal is to clear the advanced exam and get admission in IIT,” said one of the successful students Sapna Kumari.
The then Deputy Commissioner had started a programme ‘Sapnon ki Udaan’ under which girls of Kasturba Gandhi Schools are provided free coaching for the preparation for JEE and Medical, she added.
Another student Priya Kumari told that their routine for the entire day has been fixed for the school administration so that they can give their 100 per cent to their studies. Most of the time we remained in school and did not go home even during holidays, she said.
Another girl Alyssa Hassa said, “Since I come from a remote area, this is really an achievement for me. It has given a boost to my confidence, which will continue to grow further.”
Notably, addressing the pertinent issues of low female literacy and even lower inclination of young girls towards science in the aspirational district -- Khunti, the District Administration had launched ‘Sapno Ki Udaan’ programme at Kalamati centre of KGBV in Khunti in October 2021.
Through "Sapno ki Udaan" program, an effort is being made to ensure a strong education system for girl students in the district, under which, online/offline coaching is being provided to girl students of class 11th and 12th at KGBRV in Khunti for Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics so that they can qualify engineering and medical examinations.
With the cooperation of the district administration, free coaching is arranged for the girl students enrolled in class 12 of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya for medical and engineering entrance examinations. Under this, coaching is being provided to girl students through the Ranchi branch of the prestigious coaching institute.
Last year also, ten girls, preparing for engineering under the 'Sapno Ki Udaan' program of the same school, had qualified JEE Mains 2023.