A Narikurava youth of Vallimalai village near Uthangarai in Krishnagiri district has got an MBBS seat in the Government Medical College, Thanjavur, through counselling held in Chennai on July 9.
M. Rajapandi secured 1,167 marks out of 1,200 in the Plus-Two examination, and his score in the relevant subjects during counselling was 197.75.
He was ranked 1014 under general category.
Under the Most Backward Class category, he was placed 185 in the rank list released by the Directorate of Medical Education last month.
Offers to help him get a medical education poured in following a report in The Hindu, ‘>Narikuravas want him to be the agent of change ’, on June 7.
While actor Jeeva provided Rs. 37,000, a doctor from Tuticorin gave Rs. 20,000 and a philanthropist from Chennai, Rs. 10,000.
An industrial group in Coimbatore offered to bear the entire expense of his medical education.
Chairman of the Senthil group of Companies and founder of the Sri Vijayalakshmi Charitable Trust, O. Arumugasamy, invited Rajapandi along with his mother and paternal uncle to Coimbatore and informed them about the help to be extended, including expenses for counselling, tuition fees, books and hostel fees.
R.V.C. Natarajan, a social worker based in Coimbatore, and P.G.V. Muthulakshmi, who owns an ENT Hospital in Coimbatore brought the boy’s requirements to the knowledge of Mr. Arumugasamy.
The management of the hospital offered to meet other education-related expenses.
Dr. Muthulakshmi got the boy’s eyes checked for defects and offered him spectacles and two sets of clothes.
Mr. Arumugasamy also offered to sponsor the school education of Rajapandi’s siblings in the school run by his trust.
His mother would be provided a job and the entire family would get accommodation in Coimbatore.
Mr. Arumugasamy told The Hindu on Wednesday that he was providing a scholarship of Rs. 5,000 a year to poor students who scored 80 per cent and more from government schools and 90 per cent and more for private school students in SSLC for pursuing Plus-one/Plus-Two.
The trust has been helping poor students from Coimbatore, The Nilgiris, Erode and Tirupur districts for the last three years.
It is also giving a scholarship of Rs. 12,500 a year for pursuing degree courses in arts and science and Rs. 25,000 a year for professional courses.
Two months ago, the trust disbursed over Rs. 75 crore as scholarship to 36,000 students.
