Mumbai: Kiran Kurmawar, a taxi driver from Reguntha village, around 70 km from Sironcha taluka of Gadchiroli district, has finally left for England for higher education. Kiran will be studying MSc in Marketing Management at the University of Leeds in England for the next two years.
ABP Live had reported in April this year how the 27-year-old was struggling to arrange the money required for the necessary fees and sundry expenses, after she secured admission in the course. Soon after publication of the news, the Maharashtra government had granted a scholarship of Rs 40 lakh to her.
Kiran is now all set to realise her dream of pursuing higher education abroad. But she doesn’t want to stay outside India for long. Her next dream is to come back to India after completing her studies and help “boys and girls coming from tribal areas like me” with higher education opportunities, she told ABP Live.
Kiran’s Reguntha village, dominated by a tribal population, lacks facilities for higher education. Ramesh Kurmawar, however, wanted Kiran and his two other daughters to study. Kiran and her elder sisters pursued higher education at Osmania University in Hyderabad. Her sisters have degrees in chemistry and biotechnology. After completing her MA in Economics, Kiran had initially enrolled in an aviation course in Delhi. But she had to discontinue that after her taxi driver father met with an accident. Kiran took over the steering wheel and started ferrying passengers on the 70-km route between Reguntha and Sironcha.
She did this for five years. Things took a turn after she attended a career guidance camp in Gadchiroli. It was at this camp, the Eklavya workshop, where she got to know about her prospects of pursuing higher education abroad.
Kiran had told ABP Live in April how she met a student, Vishal Thackeray, at the camp and how he guided her on the admission process. Vishal is a PhD student at Austin University in Texas, US.
After one year of preparation, Kiran took the IELTS exam and got an opportunity to study at Leeds.
'I Will Study For The Next Two Years And Then…'
She is now full of gratitude for everyone who made this possible. Speaking to ABP News, Kiran said, "Today, with the help of ABP News, I am fulfilling my dream of higher education at Leeds University in England. I will study for the next two years and then return to India to provide higher education opportunities for boys and girls from tribal areas like me."
She also acknowledged the support of Vishal Thackeray and others.
Kiran needed around Rs 28 lakh for the tuition fee, besides another few lakhs to cover other expenses. Speaking to ABP News, her father Ramesh Kurmawar had said he was ready to even mortgage their house to help fund her studies.
“I was a taxi driver. After my accident, Kiran started driving, and drove our family. My financial situation is not good. I don't even have any land but we are ready to mortgage our house too to arrange money for Kiran's education. She must pursue her education,” he had said.
It may be recalled that after the ABP News channel came out with the report on Kiran, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sachin Ahir raised the matter in the monsoon session of Maharashtra assembly, drawing the government's attention. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde later invited Kiran to Mumbai to hear her story, after which he immediately ordered the social justice department to help her out.
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