An educational start-up has made the spirit of 30 underprivileged students from Bihar soar by arranging their maiden flight to a premier institution – the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.
These students, all wards of farmers and daily wagers were selected after a talent hunt exam conducted by start-up Edvizo across Bihar on August 21. The 30 were among the top 1% performers in the National Level Common Entrance Examination (NLCEE) 2022, a wing of the start-up.
More than 1.3 lakh students from Class 9 to graduation had appeared for the exam.
Organised by IIT, National Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management graduates, the NLCEE seeks talented students, provides exposure and extends “maximum support to the unprivileged through scholarships so that they can fulfil their dream of getting a better education”.
One of the dreams of the 30 students was to visit the campus of an IIT. The NLCEE zeroed in on IIT Guwahati and arranged their flight from Patna to Guwahati on April 2 for a four-day tour.
“We are very proud of the students shortlisted for this trip. The path-breaking journey is expected to give them a high level of exposure. Such experiences will encourage students in the holistic development of their careers and personalities and motivate them to pursue careers in science and technology,” Suman Kumar Gunjan, central coordinator of NLCEE, said.
The itinerary of the students includes projects, visits to various departments and laboratories of IIT Guwahati, live demonstrations and simulations, group discussions and other activities to help them dig deeper into the concepts, an NLCEE spokesperson said.
The start-up also paid for the flight and other expenses of some of the parents of the selected students in order to give them an opportunity to visit an IIT campus, the spokesperson said, adding that they were accommodated within the IIT Guwahati campus.
Among the 30 were three girls from Nari Gungan, an NGO run by Padma Shri awardee Sudha Vergese.
The selected students and the parents are scheduled to fly back to Patna Monday evening.
