'Dreams do come true': Battling poverty, TS social welfare school students shine in SSC exam

Hyderabad: For around three months, Sapavat Josna of Ibrahimpatnam could not attend her online classes. Her farmer parents could not afford a phone. When her friends attended online classes, Josna tried to study by herself. She also took her brother's help. Josna says it was difficult to follow. Fighting all odds, she came out successful in her SSC examination with a 10/10 Grade Point Average (GPA).

"I am extremely happy. My parents are feeling so proud of me," says Josna, a student of Telangana Social Welfare Residential School in Gowlidoddi. When the classes turned offline, Josna says she went back to school and got her doubts cleared. Josna says she is planning to take up Maths Physics Chemistry (MPC) in her intermediate. "My biggest dream is to get into IIT Kanpur," she says.

Parents motivated to be independent

Unlike Josna who had expected a 10/10, Gayathri Chittle was shocked when her SSC results came. Gayathri, also a student of Telangana Social Welfare Residential School in Gowlidoddi says she did not expect a 10/10. Gayathri also found it hard to follow the online classes even though she had her mother's phone to attend the classes. Her father being a construction worker and her mother running a tea stall, Gayathri says that she did face financial challenges before joining the social welfare school in Gowlidoddi. But now things have improved, says Gayathri, who lives in Pragathi Nagar in Ramanthapur.

Having come the hard way, Gayathri's parents always encouraged her to study harder and become independent. "They always say we should not be like this. We should develop our life, and become independent. For that, they encourage me to study harder," she says. Gayathri wants to become a doctor and is planning to take up BiPC (Biology, Physics, Chemistry) in her intermediate.

Children in my area are poor, this should change

J Keerthana was elated on Thursday as her hard work had paid off. Hailing from a remote village in Thumanapalli in Rangareddy, Keerthana says that she has faced several financial constraints in her life with both her parents being farmers. During the online classes, Keerthana used her father's phone to attend classes. Although she had a phone, the internet connectivity in her area was very poor. "There were interruptions in between the classes," she says.

But having seen her family's struggles, Keerthana was determined to study well. During her SSC exam preparations, she used to put in around 10 hours for studies. Her father always said that he did not want his children to face the problems he suffered. So he encouraged both Keerthana and her elder brother to study harder. "I come from a poor family. Children in and around my house are also poor. As a result, many of them are not able to go to school and their families are unable to become independent.

This should change. To help children like me who face similar problems, I would like to join civil service," says Keerthana. Keerthana has secured a seat in the social welfare school in Gowlidoddi itself to pursue her intermediate in MPC (Maths, Economics, Commerce) stream.