Mridul K, 16, of Poochakkal in Alappuzha has no words to describe his happiness when he cleared SSLC exam this time. The last year had been a testing time for him after he failed to clear the exam. It really dented his confidence and he was on the verge of ending his studies. Thankfully, the Hope Project of Kerala Police came to his rescue. The timely mentoring by experts helped him get back into studies and clear SSLC exam in his second attempt. "I never believed that I will clear the SSLC again when I failed in my first attempt. The mental trauma of being seen as a loser is really painful. But now, I am happy and excited. I want to pursue my studies," he said.This is not the case of Mridul alone, Hope Project has given hope of a bright future to 365 students who cleared SSLC exam this year after failing in their previous attempts. "Of the 394 students we mentored this year, 365 cleared the SSLC exam. It was a collective effort by a lot of noble-minded people that resulted in success of 365 students. We will continue offering our mentoring and support to these students for higher studies," said Inspector General (IG) P Vijayan, who is the nodal officer of Hope Project. "We identified the students who needed our support and have now put them back on academic path. We are also planning to offer a skill development training to these students so that they can earn while pursuing higher studies," Vijayan said. As part of the project, a police officer was assigned as liaison officer for each student enrolled in the project. "We are happy to be part of the project. We ensured that the student regularly attended coaching classes," said civil police officer Kannan Kesav of Mavelikkara police station who was liaison officer of a student identified as Nicksy Manu. Vijayan said Hope Project was conceived after it was found that students who fail in SSLC and Plus Two exams tend to drift away from main stream society and end up in criminal activities. "The project is to enable these children cross the 10th grade threshold and open up a brighter world for them," he added.
