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How 18 Tribal Students From Maoist-Affected Dantewada Cracked IIT JEE Mains 2018

18 tribal students including 8 girls from Chattisgarh’s Dantewada have cracked IIT Jee Mains 2018. It’s a huge achievement given Dantewada’s reputation as a socially alienated and Naxal affected area.

Under state government’s ‘Choo Lo Aasman’ initiative, a total of 40 tribal students were provided free assistance by a Kota-based coaching institute.

Speaking with ANI, Neha Churendra, one of the students to crack the test, said, “I have been studying at Choo Lo Aasman for two years.It was my dream to qualify Jee Mains examination. So I have finally qualified the exam I am very happy. My brother wanted to crack IIT Mains but he did not succeed. He is currently in an engineering college in Karnataka, but he wanted me to make into IITs.”

The government run initiative has come as a boon for tribals that provides quality education to rural kids with an aim to bring families to the social mainstream.

Speaking with ANI District collector Saurabh Kumar said, said “We are running two institutes for boys and girls. At present, 15 students have passed. Apart from this, 3 of our students who are in NIT have cracked the exam with better ranks. So, a total of 18 students have cracked Jee mains exam.”

Speaking with Hindustan Times, Ashutosh Kumar (26), a faculty member of the coaching institute, said, “When we were sent from Kota to Dantewada, we were initially scared of Maoist terror in the region. Later we got adapted to it and are now comfortable here.” Free coaching, he said, is provided to only government school students.