28 Tamil Nadu govt school students get rare entry at IIT Madras

In a major success for the state education system, 28 students from government schools in Tamil Nadu have obtained admission to the elite Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) this year. The students secured admission in the 'IITM For All' programme, which is aimed at granting access to top technical education to meritorious students from rural and economically underprivileged sections of society. The program provides undergraduate programs in areas with high demand such as B.S. in Data Science and Electronics Systems.

The selection is extremely competitive. In this year, more than 11,000 students from government schools were first screened for the programme. Out of this big pool of students, 168 shortlisted students were called for the entrance examination, and among them, the 28 finally selected students were from different districts of the state. Since its inception in 2022, the 'IITM For All' programme has now benefited a total of 381 government school students to offer them a life-changing path to higher education.

A State-Wide Success Celebrated at the Top

The achievement has been greeted with general euphoria, especially by the state government authorities who see it as a success for their education policies. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi made the news official, bringing attention to the role of government schemes in facilitating these successes.

On his social media handle X (previously Twitter), the Minister tweeted, "With the help of the schemes adopted by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, students of government schools are reaching new heights in education and making achievements. In this manner, under the 'IIT for All' scheme, we are pleased to announce that 28 of our government school students have joined IIT Chennai. Warm greetings to those students."

Geographic and Academic Distribution of Success

The success stories are not limited to urban areas but are distributed across Tamil Nadu, showing the wide reach of the initiative. Five students from Greater Chennai Corporation schools and one student from another government school in Chennai form the cohort from the capital. Outside the capital, eight students are from Coimbatore district, three each from Kallakurichi, Sivaganga, and Vellore districts, one from Mayiladuthurai, and two each from Salem and Villupuram districts.

A whopping 25 of the total students have been accepted into the B.S. Data Science course, whose significance is increasingly felt. The other three students have enrolled in the B.S. Electronics Systems course. Authorities have informed that the chosen students will be provided with constant assistance so that they may be able to pass through their challenging academic tenure at IIT Madras.