COIMBATORE : Even as a few students from tribal hamlets drop out of schools due to lack of encouragement, a 19-year-old girl in Kalkothi, a tribal settlement near Madvarayapuram, is emerging as the first graduate among her community. A final year BSc Computer Science student in Government College at Valparai, T Sandhiya hails from the Mudugar community and is the first in her settlement to enter college.
"I grew up seeing the struggles faced by my widowed mother, who works as daily wage labourer, and decided that education would change our lives. I was determined not to drop out like other students did in my hamlet," Sandhiya said.
With the help of good samaritans, she secured admission in government college at Valparai and stays in the college hostel. Whenever she visits home, Sandhiya accompanies her 60-year-old mother to work as farm hand. "I earn Rs 250 per day which helps the family." she added. Besides, she conducts classes for students in her settlement.
Speaking to TNIE, G Ramkumar, a coordinator of Siruvani Vizhuthugal NGO said, "We regularly conduct awareness sessions and distribute stationery materials to students in tribal settlement. That's when we spotted Sandhiya. We pooled Rs 5,000 for her college admission."
Though Sandhiya studied in Tamil medium in school, she was able to cope up with English teaching at college. She said her classmates helped her clear doubts and improve English skills. She could now understand C++, Java, Python programming. Sandhiya aims to appear in competitive exams after completing college.