HYDERABAD: They have battled several social odds, and most of them have not even travelled beyond Hyderabad till date. With a bit of hand-holding, the students of social and tribal welfare institutions in the state have once again come out with flying colours and making it to some of the top colleges in the country.In a first, 94 students from the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) and Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TTWREIS) have secured admissions to colleges affiliated to the prestigious Delhi University. Of them, 44 are girls.
These first-generation learners from non-descript villages of Telangana overcame abject poverty and have secured admissions to prestigious colleges like Lady Sriram, Hindu, Ramjas and SCRCC in Delhi.
Last year, for the first time, 12 students from Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Gurukulam got admissions to colleges under Delhi University. This year they are assisting their juniors in the admission process.
The five-fold increase in the number of Gurukul students making it to the best colleges in the country is the result of hard work and determination of both students and teachers, said RS Praveen Kumar, secretary of the education society. To the students, most of whom had never travelled beyond Hyderabad, moving to Delhi seemed daunting.
Educational society officials had to grapple with issues like convincing parents in case of girl students, arranging money for tickets and getting reservation. The entourage of 94 students and eight volunteers had to be accommodated in an additional coach of Dakshin Express which the SCR arranged. “It is a proud moment for us as 80 of our students have secured admission and 14 are awaiting second list,’’ said K Vinayakala, special officer, SWEROES, from Delhi.
Dream come true for these students
Son of agricultural labourers from Narpally in Medak district, A Salman Raj is the first in the extended family to have gone to school. He will study BSc in Zoology at Hindu College. Calling it a dream come true, he was apprehensive about lacking proficiency in English and understanding of Hindi.