Kaliammal, a Scheduled Tribe girl, has made Jayanth Tribal Students Hostel run by Ramco Group Charitable Trust in Rajapalayam proud by scoring 1,033 marks in Plus Two examination. She is the topper in south Tamil Nadu among ST students.
Kaliammal is one among the 155 students from tribal settlements in Madurai, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli districts, who get free education from Ramco Group in the hostel. Her scorecard reads: Tamil – 162, English – 148, Commerce – 176, Accountancy – 179, Office Management – 168 and Typewriting – 200.
Jayanth Tribal Students Hostel has been established by Ramco Group through its PACR Sethuramammal Charity Trust at a cost of over Rs. 2 crore on a two-acre land. Mahalakshmi, a resident of the hostel, has completed B.Sc.(Nursing) and Pandiselvi, another student, is in the fourth year of B.E. (Computer Science) at Ramco Institute of Technology, another institution run by Ramco Group.
The hostel is an initiative of P.R. Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha, Chairman, Ramco Group, and his wife R. Sudarsanam for the development of tribal people. The group has also constructed houses in tribal settlements under a scheme partly funded by the State government.
Kaliammal said that but for the help rendered by Ramco Group she would now be collecting firewood in the Western Ghats or probably would have got married at the age of 12, as per tribal custom. She is interested in studying B.Com. and wants to become an IAS officer to serve the tribal community.
