Date:31/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/31/stories/2008033154070500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Opening ‘GATE’ to success

S. Ramu

Vajrapu Murali Krishna disproves the belief that expensive foundation course is necessary to get a good rank

PHOTO: SINGAM VENKATA RAMANA

Well done: Vajrapu Murali Krishna with his parents at their home in Nereducharla in Nalgonda district.

NEREDUCHARLA (NALGONDA DT.): Vajrapu Murali Krishna has shattered the myth that a serious foundation course that fleeces parents and takes away freedom of students is a prerequisite to get a good rank in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

Son of a helper in an iron shop in this mandal headquarters, Murali Krishna scored 99.75 marks and secured the 7th rank at the all-India test. He sincerely believes that education in a corporate college is not necessary to get a good rank in GATE.

Unexpected

“I didn’t expect a single digit rank. It’s a thrilling experience for me,” Murali Krishna told The Hindu at his small house in this town. After completing his graduation at Vijetha College in Miryalaguda, he did M.Sc. (Maths) from Kakatiya University, Warangal.

“As I didn’t perform well in the first attempt, I did my best to fare well this time,” he said adding that he would prefer Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, for his M. Tech.

“I studied four to five hours a day for the exam. A planned and determined effort is needed for this kind of exam,” he maintained.

He argued that there was an abundant of talent in the rural areas. He is planning to take spoken English course to brush up his language skills.

The joy of his parents has no bounds. “He told us that he would get a good rank and he got it. He is always good at studies,” his father Venkateswarlu said thanking the local businessmen for helping him give good education for his only son.