28 students from government schools in T.N. admitted to IIT-Madras

As many as 28 government school students from Tamil Nadu have received admission into IIT Madras (IIT-M) under the ‘IITM For All’ programme.

Introduced in 2022, the programme aims to make IIT Madras accessible to all, especially for people in the rural areas due to their economic conditions, digital accessibility and other factors. A total of eight students from Coimbatore district have qualified for the admission while five Chennai Corporation students and one government school student from Chennai were admitted. Apart from this, three students from Kallakurichi, Sivaganga and Vellore each were admitted. All the students are currently studying in Class XII.

“As the students are still studying in Class XII, this not only reduces fear of public exams, but also a fear of their future and increases awareness of opportunities ahead as they have already secured admission for higher studies,” said an official from the school education department.

The students get to study B.S. Data Science and Electronics Systems and a separate entrance exam is conducted for this. Its a self learning course and the students have to go to the campus for their exams. Under the programme, through the School Education Department, government school students are identified and as a first step, awareness programme is conducted. “This year over 11,000 students underwent the preliminary screening process. About 354 students underwent coaching to take up the exam and 168 wrote it,” the official added. The collectors sponsor the coaching of the students from the exam fees to digital access. The admission is valid for two years and students can take it up when they like.

Steady progress

So far, 381 government school students have been admitted to IIT Madras online courses in the last four years since its introduction. “A team from the School Education department continues to follow up with the students once they take up the course, to ensure that they succeed in it,” the official added. Lauding the efforts of the department, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi posted on X, “Our government school students are scaling new heights in education… Warm wishes to these bright young achievers as they embark on this new journey.”