CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin felicitated 247 government school students who got admission to premier higher education institutions in the country, on Wednesday. Among the 247 students, six of them have joined Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), 77 in National Institute of Technology (NIT), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) among others, six in National Forensics University, six in medical colleges, six in Indian Maritime University, nine in National Law University, 27 in National Institute of Fashion Technology, 20 in central universities, 69 in School of Architecture and 10 in Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research. The number of students who joined these premier institutions from government schools last year was 75.
Among them is I Abdulla, a government school student from Sivagangai, who got admission to the National Law University in Tiruchy. His father works in a hotel in Kerala while his mother is a daily wage worker. “I am happy that my son is going to study in a good college. As I work for daily wages, there is no work on some days. We even struggled to buy my son uniforms and dresses. Model school teachers went beyond their call of duty and we are thankful to them,” said Regina Begum, Abdulla’s mother. Abdulla scored 548 in Class 12 examinations.
P Vasanthakumar, from Salem, has joined metallurgy and materials engineering at IIT-Madras. “Only when I was selected to study in the model school, I got the confidence that I could clear the Joint Entrance Examination and join IIT,” said Vasanthakumar. His father works in a spinning mill and his mother is an agricultural labourer.
S Dharshini from Dharmapuri is another student who got a chemical engineering seat at IIT-Madras. “The college started on July 29 and we have been attending classes for a week now. It will take some time to get adjusted to the environment but I hope we perform well in college as well,” she said.
The state government will take care of the education expenses of these students as per its budget announcement. “There are socioeconomic reasons why students from government schools can’t enter into premier institutions. Information like how to apply and prepare for the entrance examination didn’t reach the students. We have created that path now,” said Stalin at the event.