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SIVASAGAR: Teenager Chirag Agarwal, elder son of a petty ayurvedic shop owner in Tinsukia did not follow the footsteps of his father unlike many of his likes do. Instead, he did set his eyes on IIT with steely determination. He resolved not to live an average life. Undeterred by the insufficient family income to afford quality coaching, he burnt the midnight oil. His hard work throughout his schooling days paid him dividends. He bagged admission into ONGC's Super 30 after gruelling entrance tests and interviews. Despite the onslaught of Corona induced locked disturbances, the preparation pace was kept steady till he cracked JEE-2021 and State level Engineering Entrance exam conducted by Assam Science and Technology University. In the latter, he secured the First rank.
Going by the previous trends of seat allotment in 23 IITs, Chirag's score in JEE may get him admitted to IIT Roorkee or Chennai. With delight Chirag said, "Without ONGC's Super 30, it would not have been possible to get extraordinary quality coaching at no cost and realize my dream of entering the portals of IIT. I am the first in my family lineage to become an IITian."
Eighteen-year old girl Chonchuithei Lunglo of Ramva village, Ukrul District in Manipur state had a dream of becoming an engineer and supporting her parents and three siblings. Not so privileged family ekes a living out of small farmland by cultivating vegetables. With a frugal income, her dreams appeared farfetched. But the fire in her belly has kept her dream alive. She learned about the ONGC Super 30 from her senior in her JNV Ukhrul-1 school and appeared for its entrance. Being a bright student in the school she could clear the entrance and secure admission in the residential coaching at Sivasagar.
"I studied 14 hours a day as per the coaching module. The academic rigor which we undergo at the center will be with us throughout our life. It will help us in becoming successful in studies and life. I would be the first IITian in the cluster of villages. My family's social prestige has gone up by several notches with my success. I am hopeful of securing admission in Chemical Engineering in IIT," joyful Lunglo exclaimed.
"I never dreamt of becoming an engineer before I came to know about ONGC Super 30, innocently expresses nineteen-year old Dhrubjyothi Hazarika, of Gelipung Village, Bhadoi Panchali, Duliajan District."
He used to cycle 12 kilometres a day on kaccha roads to attend school in Bhadoi Panchali. "I was scoring well in my school and was confident of getting a Polytechnic seat and technical job in Oil companies in Assam itself. But ONGC Super 30 coaching institution changed my vision and life. After the result and assurance of the IIT seat, a lot of goodwill started gushing all around. We are a small farmer family this result has made us talk of the town. I owe all my success to the Super 30 for transforming and opening a new world for me," said Hazarika in a tone of gratitude.
Fifteen students of the ONGC Super 30 seventh batch successfully cracked JEE-2021. Twelve students belong to Assam and three to Manipur. Since 2020, the entrance has been expanded to offer an opportunity to all the Northeast students. For surmounting the coaching challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the students were given tablets with advanced features for online classes.
Going by the trend of the past allotments of seats, these students would be placed in IITs, NITs, and other premier engineering colleges of the country. Congratulating the students, RK Sharma, ED-Asset Manager, Assam Asset observed, the impressive mark of 15 students of the ONGC's Super 30 getting admitted into the premier institutes of the country demonstrates the academic talent of the young minds of Northeast. Supporting these deserving bright minds will render marvellous results.
Several students from the first batch (2014) of the project, on completing engineering degrees from premiere colleges are now placed in organizations like L&T, Star Cement, Wipro, Burckhardt, Indian Army, Violet INK, Mediterranean Shipping Company, etc.
Prior to the start of this initiative, the Sivasagar district had no coaching institute to coach young aspiring students to crack JEE. Now, the young hopefuls' dreams are made possible by ONGC's Super 30 initiative. This project is being operated by the Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL), supported fully by ONGC CSR initiatives.
Every year around 1000 plus students of JNV and Government Schools belonging to under-privileged strata appear for the entrance exam. Of them, only thirty are selected for the intensive coaching for eleven months with lodging and boarding facilities at no cost.
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