In T-state, tribal students help themselves

Suresh Dharur in Hyderabad

The face of B Dinesh, a poor tribal from Telangana, is aglow with success. He will be studying medicine to become a doctor. A student of the government-run Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions (TTWREI), Dinesh bagged 55th rank in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) entrance test this year. Dinesh’s parents work as agricultural labourers.

Dinesh is not alone in scripting a success story, overcoming the socio-economic odds. As many as 84 students of the social and tribal welfare residential societies have secured admissions in medical courses after clearing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2017.

Of them, 55 students are from the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) and nine from TTWREI. Another 20 have got admission into pharmacy courses. These state-run residential schools provide free education, food and accommodation to the children from underprivileged families. They also provide free coaching for competitive examinations.

“This is truly historic for us. In the undivided Andhra Pradesh, we used to get about 10 admissions every year,” says Dr RS Praveen Kumar, TTWREIS secretary.

The meritorious and committed students of TTWREI have created a benchmark by proving their mettle in various entrance exams, be it, IIT, JIPMER, AIIMS or MBBS. “We have to ignite the spark in the young minds and inspire them to develop determination,” the official said.

Under Operation Blue Crystal (OPBC) programme, the social and tribal welfare societies provide free long-term coaching to the deserving and meritorious underprivileged children. These institutions were set up in the united Andhra Pradesh to provide equal educational opportunities to the children belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities.

“These children are given special coaching in four institutions spread across the state,” the official said. The OPBC initiative has already produced 140 medical students since 2015.

“Joining the OPBC was a turning point in my life. I wanted to become a doctor, specifically a cardiologist,” says Prabhas, another top ranker in the NEET.

Some of the other notable achievements of students from these residential societies include scaling the Mount Everest, joining IITs, NITs and other prestigious colleges of the country. 

These children stay in residential schools where dormitories and academic blocks are on the same campus. The staff members too stay on the same campus. Telangana has roughly 800 residential institutions operating under the umbrella of various welfare departments.

Under the “KG to PG mission,” the state government has sanctioned 530 residential educational institutions in the last three years. “Perhaps no other state has invested so much in qualitative education for the children from poor families," Praveen Kumar said.