At times merit takes a backseat for certain students owing to financial crunches.
Badavath Madhulatha, who hails from Rajanna Sircilla village in Telangana, secured a seat at IIT-Patna. She was ranked 824th in this year’s JEE under ST category.
However, instead of gearing up for her new academic journey, she is busy supporting her family in the fields.
Madhulatha grazes goats to support her family.
Born into a family of farm labourers, the future of this girl seems dark.
Madhulatha, a student of Tribal Welfare Junior College, is facing a hurdle, as she needs to pay nearly Rs 3 lakh for hostel and miscellaneous expenses by July 27 to secure her place at IIT-Patna.
Although ST students are exempt from paying tuition fees, the costs of accommodation and other necessary expenses is still a challenge in Madhulatha's way to pursue her dreams.
It has been learnt that if she and her family fail to bear the expenses then Madhulatha might hav to drop out.
The girl’s father is severely ill, so she has to reap the the fields for a good harvest, as she is acting as the breadwinner of the family.
The state government has reached out to her and one hopes that she will be able to continue with her studies.
According to the order of the Tribal welfare commission, Madhulatha has sought financial assistance of Rs 2,51,831. CM of Telangana, Revanth Reddy announced on July 23 that the state government will help her and provide the rest of the amount. According to reports, the CM asked Telangana state scheduled Tribe Cooperative Finance Corporation Limited (TRICOR) DGM to release Rs 1,51,831 to the bank account of district tribal development officer in Rajanna Sircilla.