Author: Prabhakar Kumar
Publication: CNN-IBN
Date: July 24, 2007
URL: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/bihar-girl-passes-iit-entrance-loses-seat-for-money/45529-3.html#>section
It's a classic tale of small towns and big
dreams -- only this time round, the dream almost came true for Sushila Mishra,
a resident of Nadda Village in the Bangah District of Bihar.
She scored 91 per cent in her class XII boards
and also cleared the IIT-JEE exam, but Sushila wasn't able to get a seat at
IIT because her father couldn't afford to pay Rs 40,000 as admission fee.
"It was my dream to study at IIT. I heard
from somewhere that the state government is helping poor students. I was hopeful,
but I didn't get any help," says the dejected girl.
Sushila's father approached various banks
for a loan, but failed to get any because of his weak financial status.
"My daughter is really bright and with
a little help she could have really done well. We went to everyone for help,
even the Chief Minister but nobody helped us," says her father, Surinder
Mishra.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says
an inquiry is on to find out why Sushila was denied financial help.
"An inquiry is on. For students from
Bihar who clear IIT entrance, usually the government spends Rs 50,000 from
the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," said Nitish Kumar.
However, all that matters little to Sushila
for now that the last date for submission of admission fees has expired, her
dreams of making it to IIT might just remain that -- a dream!
