The students of Telangana Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions’ Society have performed exceedingly well in NEET with 87 likely to get admission in colleges, of which 63 students could get into medicine and 24 into BDS.
What makes their feat quite exceptional is the fact that these students hail from the poorest of poor communities – sons and daughters of sweepers, roadside tea vendors, daily wage labourers, vegetable vendors and auto-rickshaw drivers. The government’s Operation Blue Crystal and Operation Emerald programmes of providing free intensive medical coaching to these SC/ST children have helped them get through the NEET, said Secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar.
In a press release on Tuesday, Dr. Kumar said since the launch of these programmes in 2015, several students from the underprivileged backgrounds have bagged seats in MBBS/BDS.
“My dream has always been to become a cardiologist and serve the poor in villages and tribal areas. I have realised my dream because of the Operation Emerald programme,” said a jubilant Jathroth Naveen, son of a tribal labourer, who secured all-India 210 rank in ST category. His sentiments were echoed by Saikishore from TSWREIS Gowlidoddi who secured all India 767 rank in SC category. “I was provided free long-term medical coaching on par with corporate colleges. There is no way my parents could have afforded coaching outside,” he said.
Dr. Kumar considers the current year’s results a golden moment in the history of TSWREIS and TTWREIS as a few among the 87 students are from remote tribal hamlets. Pointing out that no other State has provided such facilities to SC/ST students, the Secretary congratulated them and their teachers. He also appreciated Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Ministers G. Jagadish Reddy and A. Chandulal for their vision in providing coaching to underprivileged children.
L. Saikishore of TSWREIS Gowlidoddi has secured all India 767 rank in SC category, while K. Vishnu of the same institution has bagged all India 1,174 rank in SC category as well. Likitha has bagged 2,014 rank, Sushmitha - 2,255 rank in ST category, J. Naveen Kumar of Tribal Welfare Centre of Excellence, Rajendra Nagar, has secured all India 210 rank, B. Ganesh of Tribal Welfare Centre of Excellence, Rajendra Nagar, has secured 562 rank and D. Sindhu has bagged 612 rank.