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Passage to IIT for students from Chhattisgarh’s violence-hit districts.
27 students have cleared the Joint Entrance Exam JEE (Advanced) this year, thanks to the preparation received at residential schools run by the Chhattisgarh government under the Mukhyamantri Bal Bhavishya Suraksha Yojana, a scheme meant to provide better education facilities to children from distric
A quiet revolution has been set in motion in the Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh. Young children who had otherwise no dreams to chase or would eventually gravitate towards the Red are finding a wonderful and life changing goal to aim for – IIT. On July 19, Rishikesh Chandra Tigga, a tribal boy left his home in Naxal-affected Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and travelled over 600 kilometres to join the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur. A little over 2 years back, Tigga had not even heard of IIT.
"Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would one day be studying with the best of talent," says Tigga, 18, who has joined a 4-year undergraduate course in mathematics and scientific computing. "Forget IIT, I did not have a single dream to chase. Had it not been for the Prayas residential school of the Chhattisgarh government, I would have been stuck in my village."
About 750 students have joined the 6 Prayas schools in the state this year. Tigga is one of the 27 students to clear the Joint Entrance Exam JEE (Advanced) this year, thanks to the preparation received at residential schools run by the Chhattisgarh government under the Mukhyamantri Bal Bhavishya Suraksha Yojana, a scheme meant to provide better education facilities to children from districts affected by left wing extremism.
While Tigga has been allotted IIT, some are waitlisted, while a few have been asked to attend preparatory courses in IITs that will guarantee them a seat next year, 13 are joining the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) and others engineering colleges.
Meanwhile, 750 students, trying to follow of the initial 27 have joined the 6 Prayas residential schools cum coaching institutes under the scheme for students who have passed Class X. This scheme is like the Super 30 for Naxal regions, taking students away from an environment of violence and bullets and letting them dream of elsewhere. About 50% of students here are tribal children and 30% from Scheduled Castes.
Photographs of IITs dot the walls of the classrooms of the Prayas school in Raipur. Over 80 students are doing yoga. Some are playing cricket. Many of these students return a blank look at the mention of IIT. 2 years down the line, they could well be competing for a seat there.
Tough Lessons
Chief Minister Raman Singh says: "These schools are not only building a bright future for meritorious students from Naxal-affected areas but also ensuring equal opportunities."
The challenges are different at these schools. One is to make the students understand the importance of being an IITian. Gojraj Bajia, an NIT alumnus who teaches chemistry at a Prayas school in Bastar, says: "The biggest challenge is to make them understand the fundamentals of the subjects.
English is another hurdle they have to cross: the students often learn the language here." Tigga, for instance, is finding IIT a little tough as the medium is English. He has asked the counselling centre for assistance.
Manjula Tiwari, principal of the girls' school in Raipur, says her students deal with social and parental pressures too. "Last year, 2 girls were selected for IIIT. One could not join because her parents wanted her to stay back in the village." It is a long road, for families and villages as well. But changes are happening in micro levels too.
Rajesh Toppo, commissioner, tribal welfare department, says, "Taking this scheme to the next level, the state government has decided to provide interest-free education loan to these students for their higher education in IITs. In upcoming years, our goal is that this should benefit 100-200 children."
There is a ripple effect. Tigga's younger brother Rohan, who accompanied him to IIT-Kanpur, has taken in the arc he has tracked. Rohan is just 13, but he has begun to nurture a dream — Destination IIT.