Raipur, June 12: Shivkumar Pandey, Chhattisgarh class 12 state board topper, despite scoring 98.40 percent marks is unable to enrol in an engineering college or prepare for Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) because of acute financial crisis. He belongs to a small town of Simga in Chhattisgarh. He has now taken admission in BSc course in a college in Durg.  He has to compromise with his dream of getting admission into an IIT.

Speaking to Hindustan Times he said, “I wanted to do coaching of IIT and then after getting my admission in IIT, I wanted to play cricket for the country. But since I cannot afford preparation of IIT, I decided to go for BSc. I know my father is suffering from the acute financial crisis but he always encouraged me for studies.” He further added that if his father had money, he would have tried for IIT. He also expressed his wish to be a professional cricketer.

According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the collector of Baloda Bazar visited his house in April after Shivkumar topped the exams. The collector said that the government would pitch in to help him pursue his dream. Shivkumar’s family lives in a rented house in Simga town, about 58 km south of Raipur. Due to the financial crisis, his elder brother had to drop out of engineering college this year.

Shivkumar’s father, Mankamana Prasad Pandey is an agent of life insurance corporation (LIC) in Simga. Pandey earns Rs 10000-Rs 12000 per month. His father wants Shivkumar to study in IIT, but due to the financial crisis, he cannot afford even coaching fees for the IIT. Shivkumar is currently being trained in a cricket academy in Durg.

According to the report, Pandey had appealed to chief minister Raman Singh on May 31 for financial help for his sons’ studies. As per Shivkumar’s father, the state government has not responded so far. Pandey is also a photographer and shoots mainly for private. Chhattisgarh government provides ‘motivation amount’ to the toppers of the state, but only after the declaration of the  final list. According to Shivkumar’s father, the motivation money will be provided in September.

Last year’s Chhatisgarh topper Dhavendra Kumar had to sell vegetables because of his family’s poor financial condition. Dhavendra scored 98.6% marks. Only after media highlighted his plight, he got the government’s support. Dhavendra is now enrolled in the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2018 06:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).