Dr Devi Shetty offers to sponsor SSLC topper Greeshma’s studies

Dr Devi Shetty offers to sponsor SSLC topper Greeshma’s studies

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:13.10.2021

It was double joy for Greeshma Nayak, who topped the SSLC supplementary exam after being denied a hall ticket for the main exam over non-payment of fees. A day after it emerged that she had scored 599 out of 625, Dr Devi Shetty on Tuesday offered to sponsor her studies. The renowned cardiologist also sought a mechanism to raise funds for all such students in the future.

“I would support anyone who wants to become a doctor. I want her to become a cardiologist. She must commit herself to secure a seat in a government medical college,” Shetty said. “I will work hard to study well in PUC, and get a seat in MBBS,” a jubilant Greeshma responded. “I believe that every student has the right to study.”

In July, following a distraught email from Greeshma, whose father is a farmer, former school education minister S Suresh Kumar had visited her family to assure the teenager that she would not lose the entire year due to non-payment of fees. “I rushed to her home, consoled her and told her to get ready for the supplementary exam and that I will take the responsibility of ensuring she gets the chance to appear for it. I am happy that she aced the exam. I congratulate her,” Kumar said. Greeshma took the supplementary exam in September as a fresh candidate.

Denied hall ticked for main exam, Greeshma Nayak scored 599 out of 625 in SSLC supplementary exam

‘Can raise funds for fees if govt gives data’

The family lives in Hanumanthapura in Tumakuru district, and Greeshma was enrolled in a residential school in Dakshina Kannada. She was denied a hall ticket for SSLC as she had not paid the Class 9 fee and was not officially enrolled in Class 10. The teenager had scored 96% in Class 9. Greeshma’s father, Narasimha Murthy, had told TOI he had merely sought more time to pay the fees due to financial difficulties in the pandemic, not a waiver.

Greeshma was taught at home by her 19-year-old sister, a BSc agriculture student. “My sister taught me core subjects in front of a board in simulation of classroom experience,” she said.

A day after TOI frontpaged Greeshma’s feat, Shetty said he was moved by her plight. “There has to be a structure. Data on how much money is pending must be announced before students are barred from exam halls. How much can it be? Rs 20 lakh, Rs 30 lakh, or Rs 1 crore? It’s not difficult to raise. The government need not divulge names or details of the children or their parents. We don’t need to know. Just the amount of school fees pending can be announced. Many of us will be able to pay fees and help these children take the final exams.”

Shetty said people erroneously think the brightest kids who score the highest marks go on to become outstanding doctors. “It’s the kids who have the passion, fire in the belly to learn the skill for 24 hours a day, who go on to change the rules of the game. That kind of passion is seen in children who come from disadvantaged families,” he said.