Odisha MBBS student working in farmland to fund his study gets financial assistance

A day after reports of an MBBS student working in a farmland to fund his study came to the fore, the STSC department of Odisha government on Wednesday granted Rs 62,950 to the student Ifu Mallick from Kandhamal to help him in his studies.

As per reports, on the direction of the Odisha government, the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Development department sanctioned the grant-in-aid in favour of Mallick.

The amount, MBBS first year course fee, will be directly transferred in DBT mode to the beneficiary's bank account.

A department notification read, “The amount will be drawn and deposited in favour of Sri Ifu Mallick.”

However, netizens are not happy with the announcement of the State government as they feel the student should have been awarded or exempted from the entire course fee (for five years).

It is worthwhile to mention here that Mallick, a native of Bagramila village under Mediakia police limits, has been working in farmland to meet the expenses of his course. He is a first year MBBS student of Saheed Laxman Nayak (SLN) Medical College and Hospital, Koraput.

Ifu is a meritorious student and passed the matriculation and Plus 2 examination in first division. He successfully cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and secured admission in the MBBS course. However, Ifu’s family is unable to bear the expenses of his studies.