Hyderabad: An initiative launched by the Telangana Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Department is giving fresh lease of life to over 168 orphan girls and victims of trafficking from different parts of the State who have secured admission into a polytechnic college to pursue technical courses this year free of cost. The initiative also comes with food and free accommodation at the State Home here.
Thanks to the sustained efforts made by WD&CW Commissioner D Divya, the orphans, semi-orphans (children of single parent from poor economic background), victims of trafficking and those hailing from families placed Below Poverty Line (BPL) have already started attending online classes at the State Home maintained by the WD&CW Department in Vengal Rao Nagar.
From February 1, these girls will attend physical classes in technical courses like Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE), and Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) at Durgabai Deshmukh Government Women’s Technical Training Centre on the State Home premises without having to appear for Polycet.
The WD&CW Department has not only facilitated their admission into the polytechinc college but has also provided the girls with welcome kits comprising sweaters, bed-sheets and stationery items, among other utility articles, college principal K Sujatha told Telangana Today. She said the victims of trafficking were gradually settling down and were focusing on their studies.
“We will be able to see lot more changes in these girls once regular classes starts,” she said. According to Sujatha, there are 240 seats – 60 in each stream, and as per norms, 70 per cent of the total 240 seats must be filled with orphans while the remaining 30 per cent seats can be filled under the convenor’s quota of candidates who clear Polycet. The department has also waived Rs 500 board fee that is paid before admission for these girls.
In the past since 1982 when the college was established, less than 50 of the 240 seats were filled with orphans every year while the remaining seats were surrended to the Polycet convenor to be filled with candidates who get through Polycet, Sujatha said, adding that this year too, the situation would have been the same but for the firm stand taken by the WD&CW Commissioner.
“When we sought permission from the WD&CW Commissioner Divya to surrender the remaining seats, she rejected and immediately requested all district Collectors to collect details of orphans who had passed tenth class this year and send applications to pursue technical courses,” Sujatha said.
Within two days, the department was flooded with 800 applications from the districts and after counseling, 168 seats were filled. “As soon as the girls came to the State Home, we gave them welcome kits,” she said, adding that the credit for the transformation should go to Divya.
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