Mancherial/Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Despite challenges, Naini Mamatha and Manepalli Roja, daughters of daily earners from Kolamwar, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) achieved admissions to study Intermediate at the Centre of Excellence – Hayathnagar belonging to Tribal Welfare Department by faring well in the results of Class X. That steely determination to perform well in academics changed their fate forever.
While Mamatha was allotted a seat in metallurgical and material engineering at National Institute of NIT-Warangal, Roja is going to get admission into an engineering course at one of the institutions soon. Thus, they both scripted a record of sorts by bagging seats at the premier engineering institutes of the country. They emerged as role models to girls from the community.
A native of the remotest Gorlapalli village in Vemanapalli mandal of Mancherial district, Mamatha is the daughter of a daily earner, Madhunaiah. She schooled at an Ashram High School belonging to the Tribal Welfare department in Asifabad town, braving odds. “I was unable to spend time with my parents during vacations as the village had no road and transportation facility,” she recalled.
Mamatha still cannot be reached over the phone as poor coverage of telecom networks in her village. She recollected that she was forced to trek about five kilometers to reach Nelwai from where she could travel till Asifabad by a bus. My father Madhunaiah would carry me on his shoulders when crossing a rivulet situated between Gorlapalli and Nelwai whenever the region received incessant rains.
The only daughter of Kolam daily earner, she recorded 8 Grade Points Average (GPA) in Class X. and was shortlisted by the CoE and Junior Residential College for PVTGs. She scored 89.12 percentile in the Joint Entrance Examination Mains and cracked a seat in NIT-Warangal. She attributed her success to support and encouragement of her principal Aruna Sri and teachers of the institution.
Meanwhile, Roja studied up to Grade X at another Ashram School in the interior Babapur village in Chintalamanepalli mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad. She registered 8.7 GPA in the results of SSC and was selected to pursue Intermediate at the CoE-Hayathnagar. She recorded 77.18 percentile in JEE Mains.
“Due to the weak financial background of my parents, I thought I would quit studies after completing Class X. I am proud to reach this stage,” Roja beamed, adding, a very few girls pursue higher education in her tribe. Hailing from Balaji Anukoda village in Chintalamanepalli mandal, her father Lachaiah is a private van driver and mother Laxmi is a daily earner.
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