Anaivarukkum IIT-M: Boy to join IIT-M, where mom is a dishwasher
It has only been a couple of months since Kalaivani got the job at the canteen to wash dishes on contract. Hardly able to comprehend what her son, S Gowri Sankar has managed to achieve, she attributes the teenager’s success to his hard work.
S Gowri Sankar with his mother Kalaivani
CHENNAI: Kalaivani, a 44-year-old who works as a dishwasher at the canteen of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), was caught in a surreal moment when she found out that her son is one of the 28 students from Tamil Nadu to join the premier institute this academic year.
It has only been a couple of months since Kalaivani got the job at the canteen to wash dishes on contract. Hardly able to comprehend what her son, S Gowri Sankar has managed to achieve, she attributes the teenager’s success to his hard work.
"I did not attend any tuitions for Class 12 or to prepare for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains, mainly because my mother cannot afford it. But, I was fully guided by my teachers, especially my chemistry teacher Suresh Babu and physics teacher Krishnamurthy,” Gowri Sankar told DT Next.
Gowri, who scored 85 per cent in Class 12, is delighted to join IIT-M and says his mother is yet to comprehend his achievement.
“It is a coincidence that my mother began working at IIT-M and now I am joining there. Someone to be employed at a meagre job there, and for her son to come study at the varsity is indeed a proud moment for the family,” added Gowri.
Another noteworthy candidate is Samuel, who has already bagged a seat at IIT-M without having cleared Class 12. “I was told by my teacher to write an entrance exam and I did so. I would not have bagged this opportunity had I continued my education at a private school in Royapuram. As I am currently studying Class 12, I will join IIT-M after I write board exams in 2026,” said Samuel.
28 govt school students chosen for Anaivarukkum IIT-M
Under the Anaivarukkum IIT-M initiative, 28 students from government-run schools in the State have been selected to pursue data science and electronic system courses at the institution. Of them, five are from Greater Chennai Corporation-run schools. Among the rest are from Chennai government school (1), Coimbatore (8), Kallakurichi, Sivaganga, and Vellore (3), Salem and Villupuram (2), and Mayiladuthurai (1).
Six from Chennai have been shortlisted to pursue data science degree. The students selected from Chennai Corporation schools are Gowri Sankar from Chennai Boys Higher Secondary School in Saidapet, M Jai Aadithya and V Samuel from Chennai Higher Secondary School (CHSS) in Appasamy Lane, M Sriram from CHSS in Taramani, and S Manikandan from CHSS in Maduvinkarai.
The Chennai government school student selected for the course is J Krish Antony from Government HSS in MGR Nagar.
