Hyderabad: Pruthvi Satyadev and 24 other differently abled students from Andhra Pradesh were able to enter the prestigious IITs and other top technical institutions across the country this year, thanks to the prompt and timely intervention of state’s HRD minister Nara Lokesh.
Satyadev, 17, earned 170th rank in this year’s JEE advanced exams under the Persons with Disability (PwD) category. The rank would fetch a seat at the IIT-Madras in Civil Engineering category.
However, a procedure being followed by the AP Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) for years blocked the IIT entry for many specially-abled students like Satyadev.
As per the BIE norms, specially-abled students are exempted from studying, appearing in one of the two languages. Satyadev chose not to appear for his second language examination, and went on to score an A grade.
So, the Vijayawada teenager’s inter (+2) marks memo showed five subjects which also included the exempted second language. But, the BIE has been marking an ‘E’ (Exemption) in place of marks against the second language column in the final certificate.
Satyadev was allocated a seat in IIT Chennai in Round 1 of Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JOSSA) counselling. For admission, he was asked to upload his Intermediate Memorandum of Marks for verification. The JOSSA counselling is for admission into IITs, NITs, IIEST, IIITs and GFTIs.
Satyadev was in a shock when the IIT-Madras document verification department informed him that his memo showed marks in only four subjects, and that they considered Maths A and Maths B as one subject. He was, thus, deemed unqualified for a seat.
When Satyadev pleaded with the IIT authorities, they advised him to approach BIE and get specific marks mentioned instead of ‘E’ in order to gain admission. Several other such students also did the same.
Exemptions in language and reduction in pass percentage of marks for CwSN (Children with Special Needs) students are implemented under a government order (G.O.) of March 2022. The CwSN candidates are exempted from passing in Part-I (English) or Part-II (Second Languages such as Telugu, Hindi, Sanskrit etc.) as per their choice.
It was then a distraught Satyadev, with his father Jayaram’s help, got Lokesh’s number and sent a WhatsApp text on 22 June explaining his plight.
“We were distraught. Then the idea struck that we could approach Lokesh. I went to meet him at his Undavalli residence, but he was out of town. I somehow managed to get his mobile no. and we sent the minister a WhatsApp text,” Satyadeb’s father Maturi Jayaram told ThePrint.
As a Minister, it is my duty to serve our people. The NDA Govt led by Hon’ble CM @ncbn Garu aims to make education accessible to all. I firmly believe that there are no disabilities, only different abilities. Everyone is equal, and everyone deserves equal opportunities. I am… pic.twitter.com/y0KDIFXBgz
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) July 8, 2024
Having sworn in as a minister, along with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and CM Chandrababu Naidu and others on 12 June, Lokesh was, at that time, yet to take charge of the HRD, IT, electronics, and Real Time Governance (RTG) portfolios allotted to him.
Nevertheless, Lokesh, Satyadev’s parents said, responded immediately, calling them to know the problem in detail. Lokesh then summoned BIE officials and directed for an appropriate resolution, by way of replacing the ‘E’ marking with the average of four subject marks scored by the students.
IIT-Madras authorities then directed Satyadev to get a government order released from the Andhra Pradesh Government to this effect.
When Satyadev followed up, Lokesh immediately got the authorities to release a special government order with immediate effect and instructed officials to speak with IIT-Madras authorities.
Subsequently, GO no 255 was released 28 June, awarding average marks of four subjects, i.e., Physics, Mathematics A&B, Chemistry, one language — in place of ‘E’ denoting exempted language — to children with special needs of AP intermediate 2024 exam qualifying JEE this year.
With this, not just Satyadev’s admission into IIT Madras was confirmed, but another such 24 specially-abled students could also get into the IITs, NITs, IIITs etc.
“For us, Lokesh is like God sent to the education department at the right time. His active interest and involvement in resolving the issue secured the bright careers and future of my son and other such children,” Jayaram said.
Nidhi Meena, commissioner, intermediate education, told ThePrint that they are processing the requests of 17 more such CwSN students who approached them subsequently for revised memos to gain entry into the top tech institutions.
On Monday, all these students, along with their grateful parents, met Lokesh at his residence at Undavalli near Amaravati.
Wishing them the best in their education at the premier tech institutions, Lokesh gifted them each a laptop with advanced configuration from his personal behalf.
“It was my dream to enter the IITs/NITs, when I was of your age. However, I could not crack the Indian structure of competitive exams. I am happy to see that (despite the many challenges) you have achieved your target. You are my inspiration (in my endeavours)” he told the students, asking them to be helpful to others in ways possible to them.
“I can never forget the smile on my mother’s face when I was admitted into Stanford University (for MBA). I can see the same happiness on your parents face today.”
Lokesh said that his 2019 defeat in Mangalagiri made him resolute to win from the same constituency this time. “I have also opted for the complex education sector as it is a major challenge to lead and reform it.”
“Give us one year; we’ll make big investments and jobs here. You should come back to Amaravti to serve the state,” Lokesh told the beaming youngsters.
(Edited by Tony Rai)