40 students from Bihar's 'IIT village' clear JEE Main 2025

India Today

21-04-2025

Over 40 students from Patwa Toli, a village in Bihar's Gaya district known as the 'village of IITians', have cracked this year's JEE Main exam. This includes 28 students from Vriksha Sansthan, a free coaching centre run by former IITians to help children of weavers and low-income families.Patwa Toli's journey to becoming a hub for engineers began back in 1991 when Jitendra Patwa became the first person from the village to get into IIT. Today, he lives in the US and supports students from his village through his NGO, 'Vriksh We The Change'. Since then, the IIT dream has become a household goal in Patwa Toli.advertisementThe village, home to about 20,000 people and known earlier as the 'Manchester of Bihar' for its textile industry, now produces dozens of engineers every year. Most families are still dependent on weaving, but their children are reaching new heights through education.STUDENTS WHO MADE IT THIS YEAR
Among this year's top JEE Main scorers from the village are:Sharanya: 99.64 percentileAlok: 97.7 percentileShaurya: 97.53 percentileYash Raj: 97.38 percentileShubham: 96.7 percentilePratik: 96.35 percentileKetan: 96.00 percentileNivas: 95.7 percentileGaurika Yadav: 95.1 percentileSagar Kumar: 94.8 percentileMost of them studied at Vriksha Sansthan, which has been offering free coaching and study materials funded by IIT graduates since 2013. Classes are conducted online by IIT graduates living in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.HOW VRIKSHA IS CHANGING LIVES"There are some families who cannot send their children out of the village for studies. They are not financially capable. That is why we started Vriksh Veda Chain and created a library model, in which financially weaker children are taught," Dubeshwar Prasad, President Vriksh Veda Chain, told ANI in an interview last year.advertisement"Online classes are run in our library. Our seniors who teach in Delhi, and Mumbai teach our children (students) free of cost. This village was earlier called the city of weavers, but today every year students qualify in IIT, so it is called the village of IItians," he said.Studying after Class 10 used to be tough for children from this village but the scene changed after Vriksha Sansthan started to provide free education for students there. Students could study to become engineers for free which resulted in every other house in the village getting an engineer or an IITian.Many students from this village also prepare for NEET. The overall change in the higher education opportunities has opened the doors for girls working on a better future for themselves and being allowed to step outside the village.Founded by IIT alumni, Vriksha Sansthan provides free JEE coaching, books, and access to expert teachers through a unique library model. Its mission is to make quality education accessible to students who can't afford private coaching or move to cities.