MAHARASHTRA : Kishor Lakhaji Bethekar, a tribal student from Maharashtra’s severely malnourished Melghat region, has secured admission to a one-year MSc in Education at the prestigious University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
Hailing from Chilati, a hamlet of barely 400 people in the Amaravati district on the Maharashtra–Madhya Pradesh border, Kishor had never imagined he would receive a `55 lakh scholarship from the Maharashtra government to study abroad at a leading university.
His father, Lakhaji, owns just three acres of non-irrigated land—insufficient to sustain the family. Like many in the village, the family often worked on others’ farms and migrated for labour. Despite this, Lakhaji remained determined to educate his son under all circumstances.
Reflecting on his journey, Kishor invoked a proverb popularised by Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe: “Do not see where I reached, but see where I came.” He is the first student from the Korku tribal community to secure such a scholarship and gain admission to a UK university. His achievement has sparked celebrations across Chilati, with his story now shared across Melghat as a source of inspiration.
Life in Melghat, Kishor said, is defined by survival. “The main struggle is getting two square meals and staying alive,” he noted, pointing to widespread malnutrition, poor schooling, inadequate healthcare, erratic electricity, and broken roads. “Even for basic education and health services, we walk several kilometres.” He credits his teachers for shaping his path. “They instilled in me the habit of reading and making my own notes. They told me education is the only way to break the cycle of poverty.”
Kishor completed his primary schooling in a government-run tribal school, graduated from Savitri Jyotirao Social Work College in Yavatmal, and went on to pursue a master’s degree in social studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai. He belongs to the Korku community, a dwindling tribal group in the region.
Language posed an early barrier. “At home, we speak Korku, while outside it is Marathi or Hindi. My textbooks were in Marathi, which felt like a foreign language,” he said. The absence of basic infrastructure compounded the challenge. “There was no Internet or mobile network. While the world talks about artificial intelligence, our people are still struggling for clean water, food, healthcare, and roads. Even making a phone call is difficult.”
After graduation, Kishor found himself without guidance. “No one in my family was educated enough to advise me. I was grappling in the dark,” he said. His turning point came when he connected with Raju Kendre, founder of Eklavya Organisation, which supports tribal students. “It was like a lighthouse. Through counselling and orientation, I gained clarity and secured admission for a Master’s in Social Work in Mumbai.” His childhood was marked by labour and hardship. “I herded goats and worked on farms to buy books and stationery. Days were spent working; nights were for study, often without electricity or lamps.” The school itself required endurance. “We walked several kilometres barefoot. Summers meant scorching heat; monsoons brought muddy roads and flooded rivers. Sometimes we had to stay overnight in other villages with out food or shelter.”
Of the total 12 students from his village who once attended school, Kishor is the only one so far to have completed graduation. The others dropped out to work on farms. “Getting into Bristol feels like a dream I never dared to see,” he said. He believes the MSc in Education will enable him to contribute meaningfully to his community.