69 crack JEE in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, with crucial help from admin

Ashish Kumeti, director and founder of Eklavya, a private coaching institute that got the contract for coaching the students, said: “We focused on their weak points and provided them test sets.”

JEE Main 2023, JEE Main results, Chhattisgarh, Joint Entrance Examination, Indian Express, India news, current affairs

District Collector Priyanka Shukla said, "I visited many government schools after taking charge last July and found that there is a lot of potential among students; we only needed to give them a direction.”

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With 69 students, including 62 from the tribal community, from Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district having cleared the JEE Main (second session), in the results announced on Saturday, the district administration, which played a key role in helping the students achieve this feat, will now help them prepare for JEE Advance exams to qualify for IIT.

Jagruti Komre, from the tribal community, topped the district with 90.46 percentile. Gayatri Watti, 16, also from the Adivasi community, who scored 75.386 and wants to become an electrical engineer in a government department, told The Sunday Express: “My teachers inspired me to sit for JEE. The government provided free coaching classes, paid for my hostel stay and food when I came to Kanker for 10 days for preparations, and took care of all paperwork (related to the entrance exam).”

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The administration hired an educational institute to impart free coaching. “We coached students throughout the year and ensured that all students — around 340 of them, including 300 from tribal communities — in the Math stream in HSC applied for JEE. We conducted a 10-day residential coaching camp close to the examination and bore the examination fee,” District Education Officer Bhuwan Jain said.

District Collector Priyanka Shukla said, “I visited many government schools after taking charge last July and found that there is a lot of potential among students; we only needed to give them a direction.”

Shukla said, “In July itself, we launched a programme called Hamar Lakshya (Our Goal), where experts conducted orientation programmes for all school teachers to orient them on preparations for various professional examinations.”

Ashish Kumeti, director and founder of Eklavya, a private coaching institute that got the contract for coaching the students, said: “We focused on their weak points and provided them test sets.”

Jayprakash S Naidu

Jayprakash S Naidu is a Principal Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently serving as the state correspondent for Chhattisgarh. With an extensive career in frontline journalism, he reports on the political, security, and humanitarian landscape of Central India. Expertise and Experience Specialized Conflict Reporting: Jayprakash is a leading voice on the Maoist/Naxalite conflict in the Bastar region. His reporting provides a critical, ground-level view of: Internal Security: Tracking high-stakes encounters, surrender programs for senior Maoist leaders, and the establishment of security camps in formerly inaccessible "heartland" villages. Tribal Rights & Displacement: Investigative reporting on the identity and land struggles of thousands of displaced tribals fleeing conflict zones for neighboring states. Governance & Bureaucratic Analysis: He consistently monitors the evolution of Chhattisgarh as it marks 25 years of statehood, covering: Electoral Politics: Analyzing the shift in power between the BJP and Congress and the impact of regional tribal movements. Public Policy: Reporting on landmark infrastructure projects (e.g., mobile connectivity in remote zones) and judicial interventions, such as High Court rulings on civil and family law. Diverse Investigative Background: Prior to his current focus on Chhattisgarh, Jayprakash held reported from Maharashtra, where he specialized in: Crisis & Disaster Management: Notable for his extensive coverage of the Cyclone Tauktae barge tragedy (P-305) and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on frontline personnel. Legal & Human Rights: Investigative pieces for platforms like Article-14, focusing on police accountability and custodial deaths across India. Environmental & Social Justice: Authoritative reporting on the Hasdeo Aranya forest protests and the approval of major tiger reserves, highlighting the tension between industrial mining and environmental preservation. ... Read More