Who are Shimpi and Himanshu, 2 former Delhi govt school students who found mention in Atishi’s speech

Shimpi’s family lives in Narela. “My father works in a cable-line factory and my mother is a housewife. I have two elder sisters and a younger brother,” said Shimpi, who will complete a year at IIT in July.

Atishis, Atishi’s budget speech, former Delhi govt school students, delhi govt schools, Delhi Finance Ministers budget speech, SoSE, JEE preparation, delhi news, indian express news

Shimpi Kashyap and Himanshu (File Photo)

4 min readNew DelhiMar 5, 2024 09:59 AM IST First published on: Mar 5, 2024 at 05:01 AM IST

Till Monday evening, IIT-Guwahati student Shimpi Kashyap was not aware that she had featured in Delhi Finance Minister Atishi’s budget speech.

Kashyap, who is in her first year of college, completed Class XII from the Delhi government’s School of Specialised Excellence (SoSE) and went on to clear the JEE last year. “I went to a Government Girls Senior Secondary School till Class X and then to SoSE, where I prepared for the JEE. Those two years were crucial. I used to enthusiastically participate in extra-curricular activities earlier, like sports and debate, but during my JEE preparation, I felt that was my priority and completely dedicated myself to it, cutting myself off from other activities,” said Shimpi, who is pursuing BTech in Chemical Engineering.

She added that she is slowly getting back to these activities in college.

Referring to Shimpi in her speech, Atishi said: “Today, a child from a poor family or an ordinary family can achieve anything by studying in Delhi government schools… Shimpi studied at a Delhi government School in Rohini Sector 23. Her father works in a small factory. To contribute to household expenses, Shimpi used to give tuition to the children in her neighbourhood. With the help of her school teachers, she prepared for the IIT-JEE. Today, she is studying… at IIT-Guwahati. This means that the daughter of a factory worker now has the potential to become a Managing Director of a factory in the future.”

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Shimpi’s family lives in Narela. “My father works in a cable-line factory and my mother is a housewife. I have two elder sisters and a younger brother,” said Shimpi, who will complete a year at IIT in July.

“I didn’t know about the (budget) speech… I will go check,” she added.

The coaching for entrance exams offered at the SoSE helped, she said, adding: “The best part was that we had coaching in the school… which was very beneficial for me (as) we can’t afford coaching from outside… Whatever doubts we had, the teachers would clear (them)… we were allowed to stay back after classes and get them cleared as well.”

She decided to prepare for the JEE in Class XI. “After taking science (stream), I got to know about the JEE exam, and that on clearing it, we can get admission to institutions like IIT. Since then, I have wanted to join an IIT… so I prepared for the exam,” she said.

Shimpi said when she was in Class X and for a while in Class XI, she used to hold home tuitions for class VIII students till she could no longer manage.
Atishi also pointed to another student, Himanshu, who studied at a government school in Nand Nagri and cleared the NEET exam last year to make it to Maulana Azad Medical College. “When he was in Class XI, his father passed away… In just one year, 2023-24, around 2,121 children studying in Delhi government schools cleared the JEE and NEET exams,” the education minister said.

Himanshu, who studied at a Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, had told The Indian Express last year: “I was in Class 11 when I found out about my father’s death. We found his body on the railway tracks near my house. Since then, it has just been my mother who is taking care of us.”