Srinagar, Jun 16 (KNS): A girl from north Kashmir’s Handwara has qualified JEE Advance 2019 and fulfilled her dream of studying engineering in top colleges of the country.

Zoaya lacked both means and opportunity to study out of Kashmir, but she was always an ambitious and focused student, says Farooq Ahmad Malik, the proud Principal of Govt. Model Higher Secondary School (GMHSS), Handwara where Zoaya studied classes XI and XII.

Zoaya always felt inspired by her Physics teacher at GMHSS Handwara - Mohammad Iqbal Shah.

This inspiration led Zoaya to qualify the entrance test and interview for 2018-19 batch of Petronet Kashmir Super 30, one of the 19 centres of CSRL Super30. Here, Petronet LNG Ltd. sponsors the JEE coaching and hostel stay for 40 selected students of J&K and thus making it free for them. It is run by Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL) with support from Indian Army’s 19 Artillery Brigade.

Out of the selected students, boys join the residential centre in Srinagar while girls join the residential centre in Delhi.

After one year of hard work at CSRL Super30, Zoaya has scored 98 rank (category) in JEE Advance 2019.

Farooq says, “All of us are immensely proud of Zoaya. Kashmir Super30 was the only time she studied outside Kashmir. Otherwise, she completed her entire schooling within Handwara and yet pulled off such a difficult feat. This will surely inspire many more students of the valley to follow her footsteps.”

S.K. Shahi, Director, CSRL says, “This may sound a modest rank to some but I see this rank as an achievement as big as any other. It is simply awe-inspiring that a girl did it who was born and brought up by her grandparents and who studied her entire life within Kashmir in spite of all those shutdowns and chaos. I am proud of the girl.” (KNS)