Frequent power interruptions, poor net connectivity, cultural and language disconnect. Being someone who belongs to one of the most backward communities in Kerala, 15-year-old Nahul had to face a plethora of challenges to stay afloat and pursue his dreams.

However, after the state government announced the results of the SSLC examination (Class X examinations) on Wednesday, the tribal colony at Kalliyottu in Kasaragod, where Nahul resides, celebrated. He had scored an A Plus grade in all subjects. This is an achievement, considering the barriers that he had to overcome. He belongs to the Malavettruvan tribe, a community of hunters and is the son of the community head N Narayanan.

“There are two government employees in our hamlet and I too wanted my children to secure government jobs. Nahul was good in studies right from the primary classes and teachers used to encourage him saying he has a good future. He is the youngest of my three children. Both my daughters have completed graduated from school,” said Narayanan, beaming with pride.

Last year was also a year of uncertainty. In a jiffy, classes went digital across Kerala. To make matters worse, Nahul and his sister had to share a single mobile phone. “There was only one phone and I had to share it with my sister. We couldn’t follow classes streamed by the KITE-VICTERS  channel due to language problems. Our teachers used to clear the doubts through WhatsApp and the two-month offline revision crash course at the school at the fag-end of the academic year helped me a lot,” said Nahul. “Usually, I revise lessons during the night. But it was a struggle to download the notes due to poor network connectivity. My sisters Namitha and Nikitha helped me a lot,” he said

Nahul and his parents thank the teachers at the government school in Kalliyottu for having guided him. His father is a farm labourer while his mother Mambi works under the employment guarantee scheme. Narayanan leads the colony where 55 families reside.