Mahabubnagar: An inspiring effort to boost education for girls in rural Telangana is underway. The Villages in Partnership (VIP) NGO honored 18 outstanding girl students from government schools in 17 mandals of Mahabubnagar district. These students were recognized for their top performance in the SSC Public Examinations.
The award ceremony took place at Gayatri Function Hall in Padmavati Colony. Each topper received a ₹5,000 cash award and a ₹20,000 SBI mutual fund deposit, which they can access in five years to aid their higher education.
This initiative, started in 2016-17, marks its fifth year. It aims to tackle the challenges that rural girls face, such as societal barriers and financial difficulties, which often halt their education. Nagendra Swamy, VIP‘s Executive Director, emphasized that many rural girls leave school early due to marriage or lack of awareness. He stated, “We aim to change this by celebrating their academic achievements and encouraging families to invest in their daughters’ education.”
The program selected the top-performing girl from each mandal. Honored students included Bushra Hussain from Kotta Molgera (Bhootpur), Nandini from Chinna Chintakunta, Akhila from Devarkadra, Vaishnavi from Gandeed, Shruti from Hanwada, Harini from Jadcherla, Shravanti from Koikonda, Maheshwari from Kaukuntla, Srilatha from Mahabubnagar Rural, Vaishnavi from Mahabubnagar Urban, V. Shailaja from Midjil, Karthika from Mamdabad, Indu from Musapet, Chandana from Rajapur, and students from Nawabpet and Balanagar.
Jagadeeshwar, a retired IAS officer and new President of VIP, attended the event, praising the initiative as transformative for rural areas. Vaman Rao, a well-known industrialist and Chief of Kapil Group, also showed support.
The event featured success stories of past awardees. K. Anusha is now a Project Coordinator at TGIC. Sunita finished her MBBS at Osmania Medical College and is interning at Osmania General Hospital. J. Anusha, after completing her B.Tech in EEE, is an apprentice at DRDO. They all came from modest backgrounds and credited the VIP program for their success.
In a symbolic gesture, each student was given three saplings to nurture, representing growth, education, and environmental care.
The event concluded with past awardees encouraging the new honorees to believe in themselves, pursue their goals, and continue overcoming obstacles through education.
