PATNA: Morning, they say, shows the day. But what if clouds play the spoilsport? Shubham Sinha’s is a case in point, faced as this brainy boy from the city is with financial constraints in pursuing a coveted undergraduate course in computer science from the prestigious University of California, Berkeley.
Only 9% of the successful candidates who have been offered admission to the course from among the 65,000-odd applicants are from outside the US. One of these few `foreigners’, Shubham is probably the only Bihari to have made it in recent years.
Desperate not to miss the bus, this DPS-Patna alumnus has written to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for help. “Pursuing a four-year course in Berkeley is very expensive (US dollar 50,000 per year). My father, a salaried executive of the NTPC, is finding it difficult… Very few students from India get such a golden opportunity, and I would be really grateful to the Bihar government if any form of financial assistance can be provided to me,” Shubham has written to the CM.
A winner of several awards and honours for his academic excellence during his school days, Shubham won 100% scholarship from Auckland International College to complete International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma course (equivalent to Class XI-XII of India) from the New Zealand institution.
The teenager, who will be completing the IB course this month, has also offered to the CM to work for his home state after completing his studies. “I have been a resident of Bihar… I would be indebted to the Bihar government and am even ready to sign a bond, committing myself to work for the state government for a certain period of time after I graduate,” his letter to the CM reads.
The offer letter to Shubham, from Berkeley university’s assistant VC Walter A Robinson, reads, “In light of the outstanding credentials you presented in your application, you and your family have every reason to be proud of your academic and personal achievements.”
Shubham’s proud father is, therefore, not sitting idle waiting for the state government’s response. He is instead busy exploring all available resources to finance his son’s studies. “I am taking Rs 15 lakh as loan from my employers and am also borrowing from my relatives so as to meet at least the first year’s expenses,” the NTPC DGM told TOI and added any help from the state government “would be like a godsend for us”.