Around 31 tribal students of Naxal-affected Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh have been selected in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test 2018, thanks to free coaching provided by an institute of Kota.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, abbreviated as NEET, is an entrance examination for admission to medical courses in the country.
Of the 31 tribal students who have cleared the medical entrance test this year comprise 26 boys and 5 girls. Some of them are children of labourers and farmers, while others belong to impoverished families.
They were selected for the free coaching under ‘Choo lo Aasma’ project, for which Chhattisgarh government has signed an agreement with Career Point institute of Kota. The institute provided free coaching to 100 tribal students including 48 girls of Dantewada district.
One of the successful students, Ramprasad Kashyap, 17, who hailed from Karli village in Dantewada district, said that there were not many options available to prepare for NEET in Dantewada, as the area is known for Naxalism. “Free coaching provided by the Kota institute helped me clear the test this year,” he added.
Another successful student, Girdhari Chaudhary, 17, whose father runs a small shop in Dantewada, said, “Professional coaching helped me in detailed study of NEET course with value added educational system like video lectures.”
{{/usCountry}}Another successful student, Girdhari Chaudhary, 17, whose father runs a small shop in Dantewada, said, “Professional coaching helped me in detailed study of NEET course with value added educational system like video lectures.”
{{/usCountry}}“It would have been impossible for me to crack NEET if I had not got coaching,” he added.
Sagar Karma also attributed his success to the free coaching. “Coaching provided a systematic pattern to go after NEET, which was not possible in Dantewada,” he said.
Ramesh Chandra Sharma of Career Point said that the institute provided free coaching only to the students of government schools. When asked about his experience of teaching the tribal students Sharma said, “We were committed to offer coaching to the impoverished tribal kids of Dantewada, who cannot dream of succeeding in NEET, as the educational infrastructure there is not at par with the peaceful urban areas.”
Career Point director Om Maheshwari said, “Our institute intends to spread education in backward areas like Dantewada so that kids of Dantewada can also become doctors and engineers like kids in other parts of the country,”
“Our eight faculty members are also staying in Dantewada, where they teach selected students,” he added.
Earlier, around 20 tribal students of Dantewada had cracked the JEE Main, thanks to the free coaching provided by the Kota institute.