Students greet each other after the IIT-JEE results were published at Patwa Toli in Gaya on Thursday. Picture by Suman

Seema has crossed the limit — the seema — something no other girl from Patwa Toli had ever done.

She is the first girl from the locality to make it to the prestigious IIT-JEE Advance.

So far more than 100 youths (only boys) from the locality in Manpur have cleared the IIT, which include 11 boys this year too.

Although Seema or any of her family members did not interact with the journalists, residents of the Patwa Toli said she has qualified in the competition this year in her second attempt.

Among the boys who qualified in the IIT-JEE Advance include Vikash Kumar, Shirshak, Sushish, Bablu, Vishal, Raju, Anurag Raj, Lekhraj, Aryan, Akash Kumar and Chandan Kumar.

Of 11 boys, seven have cleared the competition in first attempt. This year, it was a second attempt for four boys — Vishal, Anurag, Aryan and Chandan. Total 35 students had qualified in the IIT-JEE Mains examination, the result of which was declared last month.

Bhim Raj Prasad, the director of a school in the locality, said qualifying in the prestigious IIT competition is not new for the youths of Patwa Toli.

Since 1999, youths from this locality have been making it to the competition every year. Last year too, 10 boys had qualified while the number was 13 in 2012. There are more than 20 boys who have got jobs abroad after completing the IIT course, while others are settled at different places within India.

A leader of a weavers’ association, Prakash Ram Patwa, said the old students have formed an organisation, Nav Prayas, where aspirants get help in terms of guidance by seniors, books and other study material that helps them prepare for the competition.

IIT aspirants sit together for group study at Nav Prayas. Although most of the weavers have been living in poverty working on looms, the new generation are getting inclined towards education and jobs. These youth intend to improve financial condition of their family, Patwa said.

The trend has changed for the past couple of years.

Now, boys from Patwa Toli have started joining coaching centres but only on merit. Four boys — Bablu, Vikash, Shirshak and Sushish were among those 40 students from all over India who got selected for free coaching by FIITJEE this year.

Not only free coaching, free food and lodging was also provided to them as part of the scholarship. Apart from the above four, Vishal, Anurag, Akash, Chandan and Seema, who have qualified this year, also had won FIITJEE scholarships in the previous year.

Bablu said: “I lost my father last year. But the scholarship provided by FIITJEE helped me a lot to ensure a better preparation and qualify in the prestigious IIT-JEE Advance in my first attempt. I secured 537 rank in the OBC category.”Among those who have qualified this year, Lekhraj is different from others. Lekhraj has done his 10 + 2 from Bihar School Examination Board. I did not join any coaching institute outside Gaya. I got necessary guidance from a coaching institute in Gaya town. Besides, guidance by seniors also helped me, he said.