How Two UP Farmers Fought Poverty Tooth and Nail to Give Their Sons a Chance at NLSIU

Arjit Kumar and Rahul Kumar, two students from Uttar Pradesh, have set an example for many others to follow by fighting several odds along with their families to gain the education they deserve and had dreamt of. Today, after cracking the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2016, they have secured BA LLB seats in National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. Coming from low-income families, Arjit and Rahul had to struggle with many financial issues.

They didn’t have the money to join coaching centres, travel to Bengaluru, or pay for their admission – but their parents ensured that they achieved it all by doing everything they could.

Picture for representation only. Source: Flickr

Rahul is a resident of Hardoi, located 110 km from Lucknow. He wanted to join IIT, but couldn’t afford the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) coaching centre fee. His father, Ram Ladaite is a farmer and he earns less than Rs. 1.5 lakh in a year.

“Institutes were charging Rs. 1.25 lakh for JEE coaching and I couldn’t afford that. So I joined a CLAT coaching institute by paying Rs. 60,000,” Rahul told The Times of India.

He scored 84% and an all-India rank of 1,423 in CLAT. But the problems didn’t end there. The family didn’t have enough money to send him to Bengaluru. Finally, his parents had to mortgage their field to pay his admission fee and help him travel. He plans to try for a job in a legal firm if his family continues to suffer from financial troubles after his graduation, otherwise he will practice law.

Arjit’s journey has been marked by similar issues. A resident of Etawah, his family’s annual income is Rs. 66,000. He did well in academics in spite of financial troubles. His father Rajeev Kumar, who was a marginal farmer, decided to shift to Lucknow and work as a loading supervisor in a private transport company to ensure that Arjit received proper education.

“I couldn’t afford to pay coaching fees and didn’t have a laptop to appear for mock tests. My father’s monthly salary is just Rs. 5,000,” Arjit told The Times of India. He had to raise a bank loan to pay the fee and secured 1,654 rank in CLAT.

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