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Rajasthan MNREGA Worker's Son Cracks IIT But Doesn't Know How He Will Pay His Fees

MNREGA Worker's Son Cracks IIT But Doesn't Know How He Will Pay His Fees
An unidentified farmer unloads grass against a backdrop of pre-monsoon clouds on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, India, Monday June 9, 2003. Grass for cattle is scarce in western India where more than 3.6 million people have been hit by drought in five of 23 districts in Gujarat and 6 of 17 districts of Rajasthan states for a third straight year because of poor monsoon rains. (AP Photo/Siddharth Darshan Kumar)
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An unidentified farmer unloads grass against a backdrop of pre-monsoon clouds on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, India, Monday June 9, 2003. Grass for cattle is scarce in western India where more than 3.6 million people have been hit by drought in five of 23 districts in Gujarat and 6 of 17 districts of Rajasthan states for a third straight year because of poor monsoon rains. (AP Photo/Siddharth Darshan Kumar)

Banwari Lal Jaatav, a labourer in a village in Rajasthan, has never held a pen. But, that didn't stop him from dreaming of a good future for his children.

The 42-year-old who works as a labourer under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) has just witnessed his eldest son, Nitin, take a big leap towards making their dreams come true. Nitin has cracked the IIT-JEE exam, securing 499 All India Rank in the SC category.

According to a Times Of India report, Banwari Lal was working near his village Pipahera in Dholpur district, when the village pradhan broke the news to him.

"Iski mehnat parivar ki kismat badal degi (his hard work will change the destiny of the family)," Banwari Lal told ToI.

Nitin studied at Navodaya Vidyalaya for free and attended his IIT coaching sessions alongside, thanks to a scholarship. Now, the family is concerned about arranging the money for his IIT education.

"As I am a Dalit, I don't need to pay what candidates of the general class pay, but still I need money. Though I have cracked it, money is still a matter of concern for the family as my father is a MNREGA worker," Nitin told ToI.

Nitin has always been a good student. He scored 85 percent in Class X and 84 percent marks in Class XII. When he found out about an institute in Jodhpur that provides free coaching to poor students for IIT entrance exams, he appeared for the institute's admission test and qualified for a seat there.

Despite the academic workload, Nitin helped his father with his tasks as a daily wage labourer.

However, the family is now worried about how they are going to arrange for funds.

Dinesh Kumar, one of Nitin's teacher, said that he is trying to arrange for donors. "I will ensure that a talented student like him should get all that's required to graduate from IIT," he said.

Nitin wants to pursue electrical engineering at IIT Kharagpur.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.