MADURAI: Despite securing a centum in accountancy and passing with distinction in the class XII board exams, Suguna, daughter of a roadside sugarcane juice vendor, was denied a seat in all city colleges.
Suguna, who studied in a Government-aided school in Madurai secured 1,040 and obtained 200/200 in accountancy. She applied for B Com in two of the Government-aided college.
Speaking to Express, Suguna said she had two married elder sisters and a brother and was a first generation learner, who was willing to pursue college education. Her ambition was to become a charted accountant. She also said since her father was a roadside vendor and earned only `200 per day, she could not think of pursuing higher education in private institutions. She, however, pointed out that the aided colleges had admitted students who secured lower marks than her. She said one of her friends, who secured a total of 750 marks in the class XII exam, got admitted to the same college where she had applied. The father of the girl, Sakthivel, said he tried to admit his daughter in a few colleges but was turned down after the college authorities came to know about his work. He said they doubted whether he would pay the fees.
He said, since his daughter was the first in the family, he was committed to her education. When Express contacted the concerned colleges, they stated that since most of the students had scored more than 1,000 marks, they had a cut-off list and most of the students had come with strong recommendations.