Standing on the threshold of realising his childhood dream of becoming a doctor, B.Prasanth, an Arunthathiyar student from a poor family of agricultural labourers from Irur in Perambalur district, is not sure whether his mother would be able to raise the fee for the course.
He is one of the three Dalit students who have secured MBBS admission from a group of 57 students who were handpicked from government schools of the district for special coaching in Plus-Two under the ‘Super 30’ initiative of the district administration. A Dalit girl has bagged a BDS seat, bringing acclaim to the district and the special initiative.
With a Plus-Two score of 1,108 marks and a cut-off of 193.25, Prasanth has been allotted a seat in the Chenglepet Government Medical College. Prasanth is supported by his mother, a farm hand. His father, also a farm worker, spends most of his earnings on liquor.
“I have to pay a fee of Rs.11,000 now. My mother is trying to raise the money and officials have promised to arrange for a loan. But I am not sure whether these will materialise. I am looking for sponsors,” he said speaking to The Hindu over phone.
P.Prakash of Ladapuram, with 1,140 marks in Plus-Two, and T.Aravindaraj of Kolathur, with a score of 1,119, have been allotted seats in the Stanley Government Medical College and Tuticorin Medical College, respectively. M.Manjula of Nattarmangalam, with a cut-off of 191.75, has been allotted a BDS seat in the Chennai Government Dental College and stands a chance of getting a MBBS seat as she is on the wait list. Inspired by District Collector Darez Ahamed, Prakash wants to enter the Civil Services after MBBS.
All the four students belong to poor families of agricultural labourers, says N.Jayaraman, district coordinator, ‘Super 30’. There are about 15-20 other students from the group with good engineering cut-off marks and are hopeful of getting BE seats, he said. A brainchild of Mr.Darez Ahamed, the ‘Super 30’ idea is being implemented over the past couple of years in the district.
All are from poor agricultural families and need assistance to pursue studies
