|
| R.K. Visworjit (in blue track pants) giving instructions to youths at his gym. Telegraph picture |
Imphal, July 29: Failure is the first step towards success. This is what R.K. Visworjit, owner and instructor of Animal Gym — a fitness hub at Khoyathong in Imphal — has been telling the candidates who failed this year’s matriculation examination and their parents.
Visworjit is the winner of CNN-IBN’s “Real Heroes” award for helping drug addicts kick the habit through physical fitness training. He has decided to give Rs 3,000 each to at least 15 candidates who secured the lowest aggregate marks in this year’s matriculation examination.
“Please don’t be disheartened. This failure could be your stepping stone for success,” Visworjit told the candidates and parents, who responded to his initiative to give cash incentives to failed candidates.
In order to do this, he collected a list of 50 candidates who got between 78 and 107 aggregate marks out of 500 in their matriculation exams conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur.
Then, he spent the past month or so contacting the candidates and their parents. The incentive will be distributed during the gym’s 10th foundation day programme tomorrow.
“Fifteen of them have confirmed that they will turn up tomorrow. The rest are unwilling to expose themselves as failures before the public,” he said.
The main idea behind this unique incentive is to extend some help and encouragement to them and their parents, so that they work harder and ultimately become successful.
The Manipur government, MLAs and local clubs have been felicitating toppers and first class candidates in various parts of the state with cash rewards ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000. However, those who failed are ignored.
“Youths are the pillars of a nation. A nation can never be healthy and progressive if failures are ignored. Failures should be encouraged to choose the right profession so that they can become good individuals and responsible citizens,” Visworjit said.
Visworjit said he also wanted to send a message that NGOs and local clubs should also encourage unsuccessful students to work harder. “If all failures are rejected they can create serious problems for society,” he said.
The parents who will turn up tomorrow said their children failed because they could not afford to send their children to coaching classes or tuition centres.
The father of O. Johnson, who secured only 78, appreciated the step by the gym. “We could not pay much attention to our son’s studies because of various reasons. So he failed,” the father who did not want to be named said.
Visworjit said the children whose parents could not afford tuition classes could not compete with children from wealthier families.
“Daku Ratnakar became Valmiki Muni. So you can also be successful and become good citizens,” he told Johnson.
| 
