Dharamraj Saroj, a daily wager of UP’s Pratapgarh district desperately needs Rs 1 lakh for their admission fees by June 25 as both his sons have cracked the IIT entrance test securing ranks 167 and 410.
Support has poured in for brothers Raju and Brijesh who cracked the IIT entrance test with the HRD ministry, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav announcing help to the duo.
When sons – Raju, 18, and Brijesh, 19, broke the news of their stunning performance to their dad, he didn’t even know why it was such a big deal.
“True, it’s a great achievement, but we’re worried about making it, that too before the June 25 counselling date. Banks would give us loans only after we get admission,” Raju told TOI.
Living in a rundown mud hut with a tarpaulin thatch at Rehua Lalganj village, Dharamraj owns eight goats, one cycle, and a table fan.
Double shift work in Surat gets Dharamraj Rs 12,000 a month. Things were smoother when the boys got admitted to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Pratapgarh. They bagged scholarships to prepare for their IIT entrance.
Both boys scored over 95% in their Class X exams, after which they were selected for a scholarship programme.
“Our village has a number of sharp students, but don’t know that dreams don’t need facilities to support them. It’s the commitment that matters,” Brijesh told.
“I’ll opt for electrical engineering and after finishing studies at IIT, prepare for IAS. A district magistrate can do a lot more for people,” he further said.
“We’ve been brought up in extremely adverse conditions. Our family of seven lives in two small rooms that has two CFL bulbs,” he said.
“Had it not been for our school, where we got three meals and scholarships for IIT preparations, things would have been different,” he added.