Narayana Mallick (18), an orphan boy who secured the 13th position (scheduled tribe category) in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) examination, is a happy boy today.
Mallick was among the three poor meritorious students who were felicitated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Taking their achievements into consideration, Patnaik announced that the State Government would bear the expenditure of the three students till end of their studies.
Narayana, who was worried for funds to go for higher studies, now gets help from others also. A Brahmapur-based tutorial centre has come forward to help Narayan seek admission in AIIMS.
Aryabhatta learning Forum Private limited director Sudhir Rout, said, “Narayan being an orphan and hailing from a poor tribal family, we provided him coaching and MBBS guidebooks for free. We have also assured him of providing all financial help to help him take admission in the premier medical institute.”
Narayan became an orphan when his father died in 2015. His mother had earlier passed away in 2013.
Despite odds, he did not give up the hope of studying in a prestigious medical institute. Instead of pursuing Plus III, Narayan instead chose to prepare for the medical competitive examination. His uncle, however, came forward to help Narayana.
“I want to be a neurologist as my father died of brain tumour. My aim is to do research in this particular area and help poor people suffering from this disease,” he said, adding, “My first preference is AIIMS, New Delhi. The next would be AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.”