Rajahmundry:

A rickshawpuller’s son secured admission to the prestigious IIIT at Nuzivid in Krishna district, thanks to the High Court’s direction.

Though Korumilli Prasad, a student of Esther Axene Government Aided Residential High School at Konthamur, secured 548 marks in the SSC examinations and despite belonging to a Scheduled Caste, he could not get a seat on account of a government order which discriminated against aided schools.

Undaunted, he decided to fight a legal battle to get justice and his due. Lending him all support was the correspondent of his school. IIITs came into existence during the rule of YS Rajasekhara Reddy at Idupulapaya in Kadapa district, Nuzivid in Krishna district and Basara in Adilabad district. Students who obtained high marks in the Tenth Class public examinations and irrespective of caste and creed had been given admissions. But in 2011, the state government issued a GO, giving 24 bonus marks to the Tenth Class students of government schools, panchayat schools and zilla parishad schools, ignoring those of governmentaided schools in the state.

Because of this GO, Prasad, who studied at a governmentaided high school could not get a seat at IIIT though he obtained 548 marks. The school correspondent, K Prabhakar Rao, filed a writ petition in the High Court on September 2 seeking justice to the student of his school and complained to the court about the discrimination the government was showing among students of government, aided, panchayat and zilla parishad schools in the matter of award of bonus marks.

The court stayed IIIT admissions for three months and issued interim directions later, allowing the government to complete admissions and also to admit Korumilli Prasad into the IIIT immediately. Complying with the order, IIIT vicechancellor admitted Prasad the institution at Nuzivid on December 3.

source: http://www.expressbuzz.com / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / Express News Service / January 02nd, 2012