A woman from Maharashtra who earns her living by driving a taxi in tribal areas and aspires to study abroad will be soon going to the UK.

Kiran Kurma hails from Reguntha, a village in the Gadchiroli district that has been adversely affected by Naxal violence.

She has been awarded a scholarship worth Rs 40 lakhs, which she plans to utilize to pursue a one-year course in International Marketing Management at the University of Leeds.

Her aim is to secure a job in a company in the UK for a period of two years, after which she plans to return to her hometown.

The grant money will be given to her once all the formal processes are completed, expected to be by July 31.

Kiran Kurma, a resident of Reguntha village in Sironcha tehsil, holds a master’s degree in Economics from Osmania University, Hyderabad. To earn a living after completing her studies, she began driving a taxi on the 140 km route from Reguntha to Sironcha and back. Currently, she owns three taxis.

At the age of 27, she faced numerous challenges on her journey. Her family’s poor financial situation, the underdeveloped area she lived in, and the absence of adequate transportation were significant obstacles.

However, the only solace was the unwavering support of her family, who encouraged her and her two siblings to pursue education.

After completing her graduation from Osmania University, she moved to Delhi in search of a job. However, she had to return home urgently when her father was involved in an accident, as there was no one else to take care of the family.

Kurma went to Mumbai to meet Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to request financial assistance for her higher education expenses. At first, she was unsure and asked a friend for help to arrange the meeting.

Upon reaching Vidhan Bhawan, Kiran Kurma found that the Chief Minister was still in his office. She presented her application to him, and he promptly reached out to Sumant Bhange, the Secretary of the Social Welfare Department.

The Chief Minister instructed Kurma to proceed to the ministry, but before she could meet with the secretary, he had already sent the application to Bhange via WhatsApp.

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From 2018, Class X and XII boards will take place in February instead of March.

In 2018, Class X and XII board exams will take place in February instead of March according to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). It has been decided because CBSE is planning to advance the cycle of exams as part of reforms focused on “error-free evaluation”.

Moreover, the process will be shortened to a month from 45 days earlier, as currently board exams begin from March 1 and end around April 20.

According to CBSE Chairman RK Chaturvedi , “This would also advance the date of declaration of results , which generally come around third or fourth week of May.”  He further added, “The exam should start around February 15 and we are also planning to finish it in a month.” This will also help students to select the Under-Graduate programs more wisely and they will get time for the admission process.

The board’s plan is to advance the examinations as well.  Chaturvedi said, “By April, vacations begin and experienced teachers aren’t available, therefore, mid-March will ensure the best teachers checking the answer scripts. Otherwise, in May, schools offer us newly-appointed teachers for evaluations as experienced teachers don’t oblige.”

Further, this will also offer the board some breathing room to work on the results and make them “error-free” and two training sessions will also be conducted for the evaluators.

On re-evaluation, he said , “Boards have decided to scrap this practice as only very few people apply .” He added, “This also stalls the process of admissions, compartment examinations , disturbing annual calendar in process.”

Moreover, added Chaturvedi, “If we ensure the evaluations themselves are error-free, the question of revaluation doesn’t arise at all.”

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