Students from slums make it to DU colleges
new delhi — Getting a seat in a Delhi University college is a dream come true, but for those who beat poverty and the hardships of an urban slum to secure a spot amid the sky-high cut-offs, the feat becomes all the more remarkable.
Among the thousands who walked into the varsity’s 60-odd under-graduate institutes this year was a labourer’s son, who wants to become an IAS officer; a boy whose mother ekes out a living by selling lemons; and a porter’s daughter, who aims to empower women through journalism.
For 17-year-old Prince, normal conditions for studying included the constant clattering of passing trains and the stink from heaps of garbage and junk in one of India’s biggest scrap markets Mayapuri.
“I had to study at night. There are less trains during this hour. Sometimes, I put ear buds to cut out the deafening sound,” says Prince, adding “if I become an IAS officer, I will take my family away from here.”
The boy scored 94 per cent and is now studying political science at Kirori Mal College. He plans to start preparing for the Union Public Service Commission examination.
Devinder is the first to go to college from his family and is taking all the precautions not to fall sick this monsoon. He says getting a seat at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College is a “big opportunity”.
The 17-year-old stays in northwest Delhi’s Tigri slum, an area under the constant threat of being submerged by rain water and facing a subsequent disease outbreak.
“They (his parents) earn around Rs10,000 a month. My mother sells lemons and chilies, and my father is a peon. Sometimes the situation gets challenging, but they always supported me,” says Devinder, who is pursing BA in Geography. He scored 90.7 per cent in Class 12.
On the other side of the city at the Indira Camp slum, Madhu, a student of Hindi at Hansraj College, feels she can empower women by becoming a journalist.
“There is a lot to be done. I can complete my aim of advocating women empowerment by pursuing a career in journalism. If not I will take up teaching,” the 17-year-old says. She scored 88 per cent to secure a seat in the college.
“It was difficult to study with speakers blaring throughout my slum. Even the environment here is very bad. I could have scored better if my surrounding were better,” she says. — PTI