CHENNAI: Six students from schools run by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department have secured seats in the first round of the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) counselling for 2026, including five admissions to the National Institutes of Technology (NITs). Five of them are from residential schools run by the tribal welfare department and one from an Adi Dravidar Welfare (ADW) school.
Three students have secured seats at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchy. S Bharath of Government Tribal Residential Boys School, Mullukurichi in Namakkal district, was allotted Instrumentation and Control Engineering, while A Sivakanth of Government Tribal Residential School, Topsengattupatti in Tiruchy district, secured Civil Engineering. S Dharmashree of Eklavya Model Residential School, Abinavam in Salem district, was allotted Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.
S Prasanth of the Government Tribal Residential School, Attiyanur in Tiruvannamalai district, secured Electrical and Electronics Engineering at NIT Puducherry, Karaikal. R Niranjana of ADW Higher Secondary School, Nachikulam in Madurai district, was allotted Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at NIT Andhra Pradesh. A Divakar of Government Tribal Residential School, Nammiyampattu in Tiruvannamalai district, secured admission to Puducherry Technological University in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
In addition, 18 students from the department’s schools have secured admission to the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Odisha, said officials. They also added that they expect a few more students to get into premier institutions in the upcoming rounds of counselling. Most of the students are first-generation graduates in their families.
“I have a brother and a sister. My sister was married a year after completing Class 12, while my brother studied only up to Class 8. The specialised coaching provided by the department helped me clear the examination, and I am happy to be joining a premier institution,” said Prasanth.
Over the past four years, the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department has been making efforts to ensure that more students clear the higher education entrance examinations to premier institutions, following which A Rajeswari from the Malayali tribal community became the first student from tribal welfare department-run schools to enter IIT-Madras last year.
Students received intensive coaching for JEE Main from the beginning of their Class 12 academic year at a residential camp in Mallur, Salem district. Those who qualified further were provided advanced coaching at a special camp in Cuddalore.
Officials said the department has been focusing not only on academic preparation but also on addressing social barriers.
As many parents in tribal areas are reluctant to send their children to pursue higher studies far from home, counselling sessions are conducted to create awareness about opportunities available through premier institutions. The department also provides preparatory training in communication skills, including spoken English, at a camp in Kumizhi in Chengalpattu, and plans to extend continued support to students after admission to prevent dropouts and help them successfully complete their courses.
This stoy has been written by Subashini Vijayakumar of The New Indian Express.
