PUNE, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dakshana Foundation is pleased to announce that its third batch of JNV Dakshana Scholars came through with flying colors and did exceedingly well in the IIT-JEE 2011.
A total of 50 Dakshana Scholars were prepped for free by Dakshana for two years at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Bengaluru using classroom lectures. Of these, 37 qualified in the IIT-JEE merit list – a 74% success rate! In 2010 and 2009, our success rate was 31% and 21% respectively. Dakshana’s founder, Mohnish Pabrai, commented, “We are singularly focused on continuous improvement in all our methods and processes. This is reflected in the exceptional 74% rate. We are relentlessly focused on fine-tuning our scholar selections and IIT-JEE preparation methodology.”
Dakshana’s topper was Bhrugupati Hansda from Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Bhrugupati secured an IIT-JEE All-India ST rank of 15. His mother is illiterate and his father is retired with a monthly pension of Rs. 3000 ($67). In second place is Sunaram Tudu from Keonjhar district in Odisha. Sunaram secured an IIT-JEE All-India ST rank of 18. With five siblings and a single impoverished father (his mother passed away) barely eking out Rs. 1000 a month as a farmer, Sunaram had a very tough childhood. Right on his heels is Arun Prabhakaran from Ernakulam district in Kerala. Arun secured an IIT-JEE All-India SC rank of 19. Arun’s father is a laborer earning Rs. 3000 a month, typically. We salute all our Dakshana scholars for their diligence and perseverance.
Our 50 scholars were intensively coached for the IIT-JEE by Dakshana’s coaching partner, T.I.M.E., at JNV Bengaluru Urban from 2009-11. This unique partnership between Dakshana, JNV and IIT-JEE institutes like TIME has been highly successful in alleviating poverty.
Dakshana also ran a pilot program at JNV Puducherry where we coached 17 girls for the IIT-JEE for 2 years using internet-cloud based tools and software instead of live instructors. That initiative did not work and none of the girls cracked the IIT-JEE. We will revisit internet coaching in a few years as the delivery becomes better, but have shelved it for now.
Less than 3% of the nearly 500,000 students who attempted the IIT-JEE were successful. Dakshana had a hit rate of 74% - with 37 of the 50 scholars being selected. “Colonel Sharma, Sharmila Pai and the Dakshana Pune team have worked very hard to fix many shortcomings. We hope to do even better in the years ahead – even as we scale up,” said Mohnish.
Since Dakshana started operations in 2007, a total of 271 (out of 714) of our gifted scholars have cracked the IIT-JEE. Two out of every five Dakshana Scholars has been accepted as an IITian. “We hope to increase this number and percentage dramatically in the years ahead,” said Colonel Ram Sharma, Dakshana’s CEO.
The foundation has a strong relationship and Memorandum of Understanding with the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) whereby Dakshana screens and selects the most promising JNV students for intensive preparation and coaching for the IIT-JEE. The 593 JNVs nationwide graduate over 30,000 students every year. Historically, only a small handful of them have made it to IIT. The Dakshana-JNV partnership is all about creating a level playing field where brilliant students from rural, impoverished families can reach their full potential.
A list of Dakshana Scholars who qualified in the IIT-JEE 2011 by region has been posted on www.dakshana.org.
Since inception in 2007, Dakshana has spent $3.2 million towards the alleviation of poverty and the leveling of the playing field. Dakshana is focused on providing world-class education opportunities for exceptionally gifted children from impoverished backgrounds in India. Every Dakshana Scholar who gets a world-class education successfully breaks the shackles of poverty for his entire family - permanently.