She hails from an extremely poor Dalit family lacking proper shelter. Her parents are not literate and work as construction labour, but that did not stop M. Narsana from excelling in academics at school and in Intermediate in the Telangana Government Social Welfare Hostel.
Poverty and adversities did not deter her, and she secured admission into the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru — B.Sc (physics), from among the 30 free seats available nationwide for merit students with a total fee waiver.
“The competitive spirit imbibed in my school and college helped me. I want to pursue higher education and take up teaching,” says the teenager in fluent English.
Admission is through a written test and an interview, and the magnitude of her achievement can be realised in view of her background. She also lost her father nine years ago in a construction mishap in Mumbai, and her mother struggled to bring her up and her two school-going brothers.
Resident of Dharmajipeta village of Kadem mandal in Adilabad district, she studied from class 5 to Intermediate at the TSWRS at Kadem, secured 8.8 grade point average in the SSC exams, and 957/1000 marks in Intermediate (MPC) last year. She also stood first among social welfare students in the district.
“There was a buzz about the social welfare residential schools in our village so we all wanted to study there,” says Narsana, currently undergoing orientation classes in the varsity.
But, she almost did not join. Such was her plight that she did not have the money to buy clothes or even pay for transport when she was called for felicitation by the alumni of the social welfare residential schools — Swaroes. The alumni then not only paid for her travel but also arranged funds for her stay in the university. Incidentally, she is also the recipient of the varsity’s Santoor scholarship for girls from challenging backgrounds, earning her a stipend of Rs. 3,000 a month.
“She will be a role model for other children in our institute having secured admission into Azim Premji University. Through ‘Swaroes’ we have formed a common education fund to support students like Narsana,” says TSWREI secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar, an IPS officer, credited with transforming the hostels.