NIT has offered a seat to to Shakeel Ahmad Dar from Kashmir's Shagund village, saying finance will not be an impediment for his studies.
Highlights
- Shakeel Ahmed Dar, who qualified for IIT, did not have the money for fees
- NIT Srinagar said finance will not be an impediment if he chose to join
- "I would also like to help those who are needy, like me," Shakeel said
Nineteen-year-old Shakeel Ahmed Dar's dreams are about to take flight.
The young student, who passed his JEE or Joint Entrance Examination, studying in a two-room shack his family was forced to share with goats, will now be able to do an engineering course.
It was beyond the power of Shakeel's family to pay the fees for his engineering course - Rs 6 lakh for admission and the yearly fees. Despite qualifying for the IIT advance exam, he had to opt out as he had no money to pay even the exam fee of Rs 10,000.
But days after NDTV highlighted his plight and help started pouring in, Srinagar's National Institute of Technology said they will provide the shortfall if Shakeel wanted admission there. NDTV viewers have already deposited over Rs 2 lakh in Shakeel's bank account.
"I assure you that finance will not be an impediment for his admission at NIT Srinagar," said Fayaz Ahmad, the registrar of the institute. "I'm very thankful to NDTV for identifying this well deserving boy who has cracked JEE with good marks."
Shakeel Ahmad Dar is the first boy from Kashmir's Shagund village who will go on to become an engineer.
Shakeel, who had qualified earlier for NIT, is delighted.
"I'm grateful to all those people who helped me to get admission here. I feel so happy to see NIT for the first time. I had never seen it before," he said.
The teen and his two brothers, residents of Kashmir's Bandipora, were forced to work after their father died nine years ago. But his mother had always pushed him to continue his studies -- sometimes even selling household articles, including her own warm winter coat, to pay his school fees. Now, he will be the first engineer from his village, Shagund.
Shakeel, overwhelmed, says he will never forget the support he received. "The way people helped... I would also like to help those who are needy, like me," he said.