The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Looking for Good Samaritans

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Tuesday, Sep 02, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Looking for Good Samaritans

D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

He is one among the candidates selected to IIIT, but his joy is short-lived as he is unable to pay the steep fee of Rs. 26,000

– Photo: G.N. Rao

Son of the soil: Pittala Ramakrishna working along with his mother in the farm of a landlord in Rebbavaram village.

WYRA (KHAMMAM DIST): Often he gave up one meal a day like his mother and joined her in the farm work to make money. For the high school students in the tiny village of Rebbavaram of Wyra mandal, Pittala Ramakrishna is a role model as his learning was supported by his own earnings for many years now.

A holiday at school is a day of hard labour for him. He could never afford to attend special classes and study hours at school and he calls it a luxury. Still he had been faring well in all examinations and he could secure some 520 out of 600 marks in the 10th class examination.

As one of his teacher puts it, a student like Ramakrishna from a backward class in Rebbavaram scoring 520 was equivalent to some one from the educated family in Hyderabad or Vijayawada topping the board examination. He joined a polytechnic college after getting a free seat last month.

But his joy knew no bounds when his name figured subsequently in the list of students from the district selected for admission in IIIT. As advised by his teachers, he made up his mind to opt for the prestigious International Institute of Information Technology at Nuziveedu and collected back his transfer certificate and other testimonials thus cancelling his admission in polytechnic college.

Rude shock

All went well for him in the admission process. But he was in for a rude shock when the help desk wanted him to pay Rs 26,000 towards annual fee for attending classes. It would be more than a dream for us to put up that much money, says his mother Annapoorna-lone earning member of the family.

His joy is short lived. Ramakrishna who was looked upon as a celebrity in the village wasted no time. His yearning for big studies took him back to farm work that had been fetching him Rs. 50 a day while the villagers are keen on sending him for IIIT, Nuziveedu are on the look out for good Samaritans to bail out the boy of the difficult time.

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