Kalpesh Chander Jadhav
His name isn’t among the state toppers as the results for 14 posts of deputy collector and 377 government jobs were announced late Wednesday night by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), but the story of Kalpesh Chander Jadhav is inspiring, nonetheless. He has been selected for the post of assistant director (skill development).
Jadhav is from Khadki Pada in Walvande village of Palghar district’s Jowhar taluka. The 21-year-old lives in an area which has no approach road and is not serviced by government buses. A 1.5-km walk over uneven ground takes one to Khadki Pada, where his unlettered parents own a small strip of land, which they till for a few months in a year. Rest of the year they work as labourers.
“I studied in the zilla parishad school up to Class VII and then for Class VIII to X, I was put in an ashramshala, a residential school for children from tribal families. Food, shelter and education was free. For junior college I went to Dahanu taluka and for my BSC, I went to Kalyan’s Birla College. All through, I stayed in government hostels for tribal students. At the end of my first-year BSc, I read about MPSC toppers in newspapers. Till then I did not know what these exams are about. That’s when I got inspired and decided to appear for them,” said Jadhav.
As he couldn’t afford tuitions, he went to YouTube to gather information about MPSC and started reading as many books as he could to prepare for the pre-exams. After clearing the first round, he realised that he stood a chance and enrolled for classes at Pune’s Unique Academy. In his first attempt at the main exams, he cleared it and has now got a posting as assistant director (skill development).
“My elder brother became a police constable a year ago. That was a big thing for my parents. They still don’t understand what I have achieved, they just understand that I have become some sort of a ‘saheb’ (sir),” said Jadhav.
However, he is not content yet. The 21-year-old has bigger plans and wants to give the exams another shot — for a better and bigger posting. “However, whatever post I get, I will try to work hard to inspire youngsters like me to achieve their dreams,” said Jadhav.