Imphal May 15 (IANS) A total of 16 students from Bishenpur in Manipur were able to clear the first leg of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) with the help of the Army officials said on Tuesday.
For 19-year-old Kumar Sanjay Singh the son of a self-employed mechanic struggling to make ends meet and several others like him living in a small hamlet of Moirang becoming an engineering graduate from a renowned institution was only a dream until the Army stepped in.
The Army Company Commander in Bishenpur helped the students clear the JEE Main by convincing the Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL) -- a National level educational organisation -- to come to Manipur and select students for coaching.
The JEE an engineering entrance examination conducted for admission to various engineering colleges across the nation includes two different examinations -- JEE Main and JEE Advanced. The students who qualify JEE Main can appear for the JEE Advanced examination.
"Having realised the far-reaching benefits to society by meeting the aspirations of the youth through better opportunities in education and vocation the Army wholeheartedly took to the idea.
"It organised and undertook a screening process with assistance from experts at CSRL to select suitable candidates from all over Manipur and from a pool of 150 students from various schools 18 were considered for the programme " the Army said in a release.
The preparation included a comprehensive coaching programme at the CSRL institute in Guwahati arrangements for which were coordinated by the Army.
On May 20 these students will appear for the JEE Advanced Examinations.

--IANS nks/him/bg