india

Updated: Sep 08, 2019 19:19 IST

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said a city-based family has decided to bear the cost of education of Vijay Kumar, who has qualified for the IIT-Delhi after availing the government’s free coaching scheme.

Kejriwal introduced the south Delhi-based family at a press conference here during which Kumar and his parents were also present.

Kumar, 16, is son of a tailor father and a homemaker mother.

“You all have already read about and seen on TV Vijay’s achievements. He had availed the Delhi government’s ‘Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana’ which is a free coaching scheme for aspiring students like him, who dream big but do not have resources,” said Kejriwal, himself an IIT graduate.

“After hearing about Vijay’s case, Varun Gandhi and his family decided to fund his education at IIT-Delhi. Their gesture will inspire others to contribute to society too,” he said.

Gandhi, accompanied by his mother, during the conference said his family has always valued eduction and celebrated excellence.

“Instead of donating money to a temple, making a talented kid realise his dream of IIT is a much bigger service to God,” he said.

Buoyed by the success of its ‘Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana’, the AAP government had earlier decided to extend it to needy students from general category and other backward classes.

Thirty-five underprivileged students, who got free coaching under the scheme, had cracked the JEE Main and NEET examination this year.

Five of them secured admissions to leading technical and medical institutions such as Lady Hardinge College, IIT-Delhi, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, National Institute of Technology Delhi and Banaras Hindu University.

(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed)