A 16-year-old girl from a tribal settlement in Annamalai Tiger Reserve is ecstatic after becoming the first in her community to score 95% in class X board exams.
C Sreedevi from Poochukottamparai tribal settlement in Udumalpet range of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Tirupur district beat all odds and aced class X board exams from a residential school in Kerala’s Chalakudy, and will now pursue higher secondary education.
Her achievement is a great way to encourage others as most tribal children drop out of school at a young age. Sreedevi, a student of Nayaranagadi model residential school in Chalakudy, said, “I can hardly believe I have scored A-plus grades – more than 95% – in my Class X examination.”
Sreedevi belongs to a tribal settlement where there is still no power supply or mobile network coverage. Most students from the settlement do not continue their studies after elementary or middle school.
I am really proud that my daughter has scored good marks in examinations. Let people say whatever they want, I will ensure she continues her studies further. We don’t want to hide our children within our settlement and restrict them from scaling professional heights,” said M Chellamuthu, Sreedevi’s father, a farmer.
Amid stiff opposition, Chellamuthu took a brave decision to educate his daughter.. and the girl used the opportunity wisely. Taking her as an inspiration, we hope many villagers would come forward to educate their children,” said P Shanmugam, state vice-president of Tamil Nadu tribal association.
