Berhampur: A student from a slum in this southern Odisha town has cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) this year and secured 367th rank in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, giving this 18-year-old student a seat. eligible for. One of the IITs of the country. The rank of student P Manoj Kumar in the general category is 3,899 as per the JEE (A) results declared on October 15.
Though Manoj, who is a resident of a slum in Prem Nagar here, belongs to the OBC category, he does not have any certificate as his family does not have any land lease. He was helped by a private institute in the town, which provided him free coaching for the past two years. It has also assured them of much needed financial help for admission in an IIT.
Manoj’s father Nagaraju said that his son was a student of nearby government primary and high schools and was good in studies. He said, “I am an electrician and earn on a daily basis by calling from various houses for my services. Despite severe financial constraints, I always preferred my son’s education.”
Nagaraju said he was very worried when his son completed class 10 and approached the institute’s director Sudhir Raut, requesting him for free coaching. “He (Raut) not only agreed to provide free coaching to Manoj, but also assured to arrange funds for admission after securing a good rank,” he added.
His mother had bought an Android phone for him in a monthly installment plan so that his online classes would not get affected if the coaching centers were closed due to the pandemic situation. “The phone dues are yet to be paid,” Nagaraju said. When asked about his motivation, Manoj pointed to his father and thanked the teachers of the coaching institute for helping him. Raut said that one of his former students, who now works abroad, had assured him of financial help for Manoj’s admission in the college. Apart from this, some members of the coaching institute also came forward to help the student financially. “For the past several years, we have been providing free coaching and financial assistance to poor but meritorious students for higher studies,” Raut said.
He said that at least 11 students of the institute have cleared JEE-Advanced this year in general category with the highest rank of 1065. Berhampur MLA Bikram Kumar Panda on Saturday felicitated the students of the institute, including Manoj, for their achievements in the examination. He also thanked Raut for providing free coaching to poor students.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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