Prayagraj: Five students from Prayagraj's Hari Nagar slum and Chungi Parade area have emerged as symbols of determination after securing first division in the Uttar Pradesh Board intermediate examinations, the results of which were declared on Thursday.
Students' Achievements
The students, four boys and a girl, come from families struggling with poverty, unstable incomes and difficult living conditions. Yet their success has brought joy to their households and inspired fresh hope among slum families about the value of education.
Amit scored 73%, Naajo secured 70%, Deepak Vishwakarma got 67%, Deepak Kori scored 65% and Ritik secured 61%.
Stories of Hardship
Their stories reflect years of hardship. Amit's father works as a daily wage labourer while his mother earns by cleaning and mopping in other people's homes. Despite financial strain, Amit continued his studies and now hopes to pursue a diploma in information technology.
Naajo, whose father drives an autorickshaw, has become a source of pride for girls in her locality by scoring 70%. She now wants to become a nurse and serve people through health care.
Deepak Kori, who scored 65%, earlier worked as a waiter in a hotel. His mother works as a domestic help, while his father is ill and reportedly confined to the house due to addiction. Deepak Vishwakarma, who secured 67%, also comes from a family where his mother supports the household through domestic work.
Ritik's family has faced severe distress. His father sells vegetables on a handcart, but the family's earnings are often lost to substance abuse, worsening their financial condition.
Overcoming Extreme Hardship
Despite these circumstances, the students continued studying under extreme hardship. Some revised lessons while sitting beside vegetable carts. Others studied by candlelight because their huts had no electricity. There were also days when they slept hungry, yet they did not give up on school.
Role of Support Organisation
Their journey was supported by 'Shuruat: Ek Jyoti Shiksha Ki', an organisation that has worked with slum children in Prayagraj for nearly a decade. Around 10 years ago, the organisation helped secure admissions for these children in different schools and gradually took responsibility for supporting their education.
Teachers associated with the organisation provided free coaching in key subjects and devoted long hours daily to preparing the students for the board examinations. Mathematics was taught by Swatantra Singh, physics by Vikas Kumar, chemistry by Ruby, and English by Anushree Ghosh and KP Singh.
Abhishek Shukla, founder of the organisation, said the effort began with convincing reluctant families living in slums to send their children to school. Many of these households depended on daily wage labour, contract work, rag picking, domestic work and street vending for survival.
"About 10 years back, I managed to get the names of these kids admitted in different schools and took the responsibility to get their children proper education," Shukla said. He added that teachers linked to the organisation held daily classes for six to eight hours, and their sustained effort now produced results.
Impact on Community
The achievement of the five students has become more than a personal milestone. In neighbourhoods where children often leave school early to work, their success has created a powerful example that education can offer a path out of deprivation.
