Representative image of medical exam.
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Many from the financially weak families of fishermen in Kerala are now cracking the highly competitive medical entrance exams by attending specialised coaching classes. Thanks to the 'Vidyatheeram' scheme of Kerala fisheries department that offers financial assistance to meritorious students from fishermen families to attend coaching camps at leading coaching centres.
Since its launch in 2015 as many as 530 students availed the scheme for attending classes at leading entrance coaching centres. Among them 178 got admission to various medical courses, including 75 for MBBS, till last year. This year also many had benefited from 'Vidyatheeram' ('Vidya' meaning education and 'theeram' meaning coast) scheme, fisheries department sources said.
"In this highly competitive scenario for many students like me hailing from fishermen families getting admission for MBBS was a distant dream even as we fared well in studies. But the 'Vidyatheeram' scheme has become a helping hand for the meritorious students from the fishermen community to dream big," Dr. Riya Sivaprasad, a native of Puthiyappa in Kozhikode, told DH.
Sivaprasad, who got admission to government medical college in Alappuzha in 2016 and is now practising as doctor, is among those who are obliged to the 'Vidyatheeram' scheme.
Faseela hailing from a fishermen family at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram was also among the beneficiaries of the scheme. "Many families of fishermen could not even dream of affording the high fees and other expenses for attending coaching classes. Hence the 'Vidyatheeram' scheme is a morale booster to meritorious students from the coastal areas," endorses Faseela who completed MBBS in 2022.
The fisheries department has set various parameters, including merit, for selecting candidates for the scheme. The selected students will be provided financial assistance for attending coaching classes. The fees are paid by the government directly to the coaching centres.