Students from the AP Social Welfare Residential Junior College prove detractors wrong, by qualifying in the IIT-JEE this year.
Being children of a farmer, coolie, hamali or an ordinary tailor, is no bar to excel in education, but students from the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Junior College (New Nagole, Hyderabad) have proved detractors wrong, by qualifying in the IIT - Joint Entrance Examination this year.
According to a media release, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy rewarded these students with a cash award of Rs. 50,000 each. This time, the reward amount was increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000.
The 18 students who qualified in the 2012 IIT-Joint Entrance Examination met the CM on Monday, at the Secretariat, along with prominent educationist and MLC Chukka Ramaiah, Social Welfare Principal Secretary Raymond Peter, and other officials.
Out of the 18 students, 17 belong to the SC community, and one to the ST community.
Parents of 6 children were coolies (daily-wage earners) and 4 were farmers. Among the others were a hamali, IKP workers, a tailor and an auto-driver.
The students are D John Surya (Chintalapudi, West Godavari) V Bhanu Chander (Bibinagar, Nalgonda), T Rama Krishna (Rajam, Srikakulam), Ch Kiran Kumar (Chirala, Prakasam), A Suresh (Settur, Anantapur), A Srikanth (Geesugonda, Warangal), B Ravi (Ponnaluru, Prakasam), B Sunitha (Rajanagaram, East Godavari), S Lavanya (Warangal), G Ram Prasad (Bhamini, Srikakulam), D Bhushanam (Parvathipuram, Vizianagaram), P Rakesh (Chinna Chintakunta, Mahabubnagar), T Kranthi Kumar (Chittamuru, Nellore), G Madhu (Tripuraram, Nalgonda), D Adarsh (Ibrahimpatnam, Krishna), K Mahender (Veenavanka, Karimnagar), S Maha Jyothi (Tanguturu, Prakasam) and J Usha Sree (Parakala, Warangal).
The CM congratulated the students for their performance, and also greeted the teachers and officials of the A P Social Welfare Residential Junior College.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the state government is giving education top priority and spending huge amounts on scholarships, fee reimbursements, and hostels for students of SCs, STs, BCs and minorities.
The government is intent on promoting quality education among students whose parents are from low-income families, and whose parents are daily-wage earners and farmers, he said. (INN)