Delhi students performance in NEET, JEE shows talent trumps money: Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said many students of Delhi government schools from a humble economic background have qualified in the NEET and JEE, and asserted that talent is not tied to money.

He said money will not be a problem for the successful students in getting higher education as the Delhi government has arranged for scholarships and loans of up to Rs 10 lakh for them.

A total of 569 students of Delhi government schools have qualified in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges, while 443 have cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), with 53 of them being eligible for a direct admission to IITs, the chief minister said.

Of the 569 students who have qualified in the NEET, 379 (67 per cent) are girls, he added.

Forty-eight students of Delhi government schools have scored over 520 marks out of 720 in the NEET, with Tamanna Goel bagging the 11th rank.

Goel's father is jobless while her mother works as a domestic help in neighbourhood houses, Kejriwal said. The father of Khush Garg, who has scored 680 marks, is a small shopkeeper, he added.

In the JEE, five students of RPVV, Paschim Vihar have qualified for the IITs. Ayush Bansal, whose father works at a bookshop, has bagged the 189th rank in the JEE, the chief minister said.

Nikhil, who got the 678th rank in the JEE, has been offered aerospace engineering in IIT-Bombay and his father repairs cycles. Garvit Batra bagged the 1,228th rank and his father is an airconditioner mechanic, Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said it is his firm belief that good education can eradicate poverty from the country in one generation itself.