TOI:IIT-Hyderabad students launch training programme for rural students on JEE

HYDERABAD: IIT-Hyderabad is on a charity mission. In the last two months, the premier technical institute has gone on a community-service spree around its vicinity with the students teaching schoolchildren and prepping them up for IIT-Joint Entrance Examination. While most private schools in Hyderabad conduct specialized IIT coaching from class VI, few government schools are oriented enough to teach children on the national-level competitive exam. Interestingly, IIT-H's local mission began at a time when requests for reservation of seats for local students are flooding the state government offices. According to the student coordinator of the charity mission, three schools in the vicinity, Zilla Parishad High School-ODF, Indrasaran and Cheriyal have been taken up on a trial basis for coaching. The institute is planning to extend its services to other schools in the area. This month, a total of 500 students from about seven schools in the neighbourhood had visited IIT for a coaching class meant to orient them towards higher studies in technological institutes. "We provide coaching to students on every Saturday. It's our contribution to local people for hosting IIT-H," said Aradhya Biswas, an IIT student and coordinator of the National Service Scheme. The NSS wing of the institute runs most of the social service programmes in the state. While a total of 30 students of IIT-H are involved in the coaching exercise, institute head says apart from cloth donation, running workshops in neighbourhood colleges, several social service initiatives are being taken up by the students.