Aarthi V (centre) with her brother Bharanidharan and Unishka. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Aarthi Velmurugan, an orphaned tribal girl from Sittilingi in Dharmapuri district, has qualified in the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains) and appeared for JEE (Advanced) fighting all odds.
She also appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on Sunday. Aarti has a brother, who has appeared for Class 10 exams, and a sister in Class V, who has to be looked after.
Her father, Velmurugan, a lorry driver, died in a road accident in Lucknow when she was in class 8. “My mother had a stomach ulcer, and she was taking medicines. But it did not help and he died later,” said Aarti over a phone call. Velmurugan’s elder sister is taking care of all the three children.
Aarti, a student of the Government Higher Secondary School in Sittilingi, is waiting for her Class 12 board results, which will be declared on Monday.
Her score for JEE (Mains) is 54 (54.206 in Chemistry; 74.052 in Mathematics; and 40.907 in Physics), and she has become eligible to appear for JEE (Advanced).
Aarti has completed her 10th class in 2020. “I am from the ‘corona batch’ and all the students were declared passed,” she said. He said that he has prepared for JEE on his own.
R Murthy, a local activist, said, “She will not be able to pursue higher education as she has no money.”
“The residents of Sitilingi are basically agricultural laborers but are now showing keen interest in education. Many parents are willing to take loans to send their children to college and educate them,” Mr. Murthy said. He said, “If anyone can sponsor Aarti, it will help.”
For NEET, Aarti said a good Samaritan had provided NCERT books and arranged for a person to teach her the nuances to crack the exam.