Poor students beat odds to bag top ranks in CLAT 2020

Raising the bar

Several scholars trained by IDIA Charitable Trust have not only cracked the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2020 but also bagged top ranks.

Jai Singh Rathor, hailing from a small place in Bihar’s Patna district, obtained the third rank in the law exam by overcoming many problems, including financial hardships. His father runs a small grocery shop while his mother is a homemaker.

Similarly, Anand Kumar, who secured the fifth rank, belongs to a small hamlet, Masaurhi in Patna. He travelled by train every day to attend classes. His father is an ex-serviceman who gets a small pension and is the only breadwinner of the family. His mother is also a homemaker.

Yashwant Kumar, another IDIA scholar, secured all-India rank 48. He is also a native of Masaurhi hamlet in Patna where his father works as a mechanic.

Many other IDIA trainees also performed well, and about 12 are likely to get into some of the top national law schools.

Soumya, who secured the 20th rank, hails from Penugonda, Telangana. Born into a family of farmers, she overcame many hurdles, including visual impairment and financial challenges.

Another IDIA trainee Anand Shankar also cracked the exam.

“IDIA is proud of its student team members across law colleges in India who worked tirelessly to train these students for the law entrance examinations. We are also thankful to our training partners that include some of the coaching institutes, trainers, and centres across India who helped us in training some of these students,” a statement said.

The trust has sought support to sponsor the education of these students. “Money should not stand in their way of pursuing their education,” it said. Contributors can write to [e-mail].