In a small thatched hut, S. Govindaraj, 18, of Periyakannalampati, a hamlet in Tirupathur, pores over a few textbooks with the help of an emergency lamp.
Hailing from a poor family, he is elated as he has got admission to the Tiruvannamalai Medical College, thanks to the 7.5% quota announced by the Tamil Nadu government.
A long-winding road through sugarcane fields leads to the hut of Govindaraj, where he helps his grandmother Veriamma collect firewood. A wide grin appears on his face while speaking about the medical college admission.
“My parents are not educated. I did not have any hope of getting admission to the medical college as I secured 240 out of 720 in NEET. I did not go to any coaching class, but relied on the free coaching given by the government when I was in Class XI and the guidance of my teachers,” he says.
He is among the few government school students from Tirupathur district who got a medical seat through the horizontal reservation. Motivated by this, the district administration has planned measures to encourage more students to appear for NEET next year.
Govindaraj lost his father Singaran many years ago and his mother Murugamma, a daily wage earner, struggled to make ends meet and educate him. His brother Tirumalai, 15, is in Standard X. “He locks himself up in the thatched hut adjacent to our small house and studies till 11 p.m. and again starts preparing from 4 a.m. It is a big relief for us that he got medical admission,” says his grandmother.
Govindaraj, however, does not have proper clothes to wear in college, and the Tirupathur administration has offered to help him. “I started preparing for NEET with the guidance of my teachers at the Sevathoor Government High School and the Periyakannalampatti Government Higher Secondary School. During the initial days, snakes used to crawl into the hut. But I was determined to prepare well and lift my family out of poverty. My brother, too, does not have a smart phone to study, he prepares on his own,” he explains.
The entire village is hopeful that Govindaraj will motivate many others to study well. “We are proud of him,” says Periyasamy, a villager.
Help to more students
There are close to 90 government higher secondary schools in Tirupathur with over 60,000 students. “We have asked the District Education Officer to select students who are interested in preparing for NEET and guide them. We have formed special teams to familiarise students with the subjects and coaching them in specialised subjects and other nuances of the examination,” Collector M.P. Sivanarul said.
He said the horizontal reservation had boosted the confidence of many government school students. “Till now they were thinking that only those studying in private schools and with access to coaching will be able to clear NEET. Now, they see a ray of hope.”
