A pecuniary impediment to their dreams

Two Dalit Medical students from economically weak families struggling to pay fees

July 06, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:42 am IST

Ramanathapuram: Two Dalit students, part of the 30 ‘Elite Students’ hailing from economically backward families and groomed by the district administration with special coaching, have entered the corridors of the prestigious Stanley Medical College and Madurai Medical College this year, but are struggling to pay the fees.

For the two single parent students – P. Manikandan of Tirupalaikudi, and M. Krishnaveni of Ponnaiyapuram, Paramakudi – securing a medical seat appeared to be easier than paying the fees.

Krishnaveni’s father had left the family when she was hardly eight years old and her mother, a construction worker, fought all odds to bring up her son, a Computer Science graduate, and her daughter. Krishnaveni got into Madurai Medical College with a cut-off of 194.75 but struggled to mobilise about Rs. 30,000 to pay the tuition and hostel fees.

“My mother borrowed a gold chain from our neighbour and pledged it to raise the money,” she said talking to The Hindu at Municipal Girls’ Higher Secondary School here on Saturday. Her teachers were helping her get scholarship and financial assistance from some philanthropists.

Manikandan who had scored a cut-off of 196.25, secured the 67th rank among Scheduled Caste students in the State and got admission in Stanley Medical College. Both his father and brother were engaged in fishing.

He had paid the tuition fees of Rs. 6,400 and bought time to pay the hostel fees of Rs. 25,000. “My father borrowed money to pay the fees and my teacher assured to secure some financial assistance from a Coimbatore-based foundation for the hostel fees,” he said.

His mother died of cancer when he was studying Class XI.

Besides, P. Thangavel, a girl from the backward class and whose father was an illiterate, has secured admission in Venkateswara Medical College to pursue Physician Assistant course, S. Navaneethakrishnan, coordinator for the “Elite Class” said. Agaram Foundation has offered to fund her education, he said.

Another boy R. Thennarasu got admission in Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) and the college offered to sponsor his education under the ‘Support The Advancement of Rural Students Scheme.’

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.