Giridih, June 12: It is not Super-30, nor a coaching centre running on profit. As the name goes, Support-15 is a medium to help those with little or no means to crack the competitive exam of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi.
Started by two former students of IIMC Sandeep Kumar (batch of 2005-06) of Giridih and Deepak Kumar (batch of 2007-08) of Bhagalpur, Support-15 helps underprivileged students towards journalism studies. Running the show from a rented room in Munirka in Delhi, the former students picked 15 students and trained them for 45 days, from April 2 to May 15 — all for a good cause.
The objective was not to earn profits but to give these students a fair chance. And the results were as expected — nine of 15 candidates got through IIMC and some even got selected into two courses. Results of the entrance test were declared on June 10.
One among them was Anjali Kispotta, a tribal girl of Jamshedpur, who after completing her graduation left for Delhi to study further. She wanted to take up journalism but did not know how to prepare for the IIMC entrance test. Then she met Sandeep and Deepak online — who not only helped her get through IIMC but also guided her on other journalism institutes. “Being a tribal girl from here, it was almost impossible for me to clear the test in first attempt. Thanks to Support I made it,” Anjali said over the phone from Chennai. She was there to appear for an interview at the Asian College of Journalism. Through classroom and online guidance, Support-15 helped students across the country, including Shubhomita Bose of Calcutta, Pritish Bhatt of Datia (Madhya Pradesh) and Jhunjhnu (Rajasthan).
The mentors — Sandeep and Deepak — both 26-years old learnt from their own experiences and wanted to help some aspirants.
“I cleared the IIMC entrance test in the third attempt. I wanted new aspirants to do better and hence, with Sandeep, planned Support,” said Deepak. “We also wanted to ensure that there is be no commercialisation of the programme,” he added. At present, he works with Shakaal Times.
Sandeep, a resident of remote area of Giridih, Bagoder, works as an associate producer for Aaj Tak. “It was a no-profit no-loss programme and we took only room rent from candidates, that also varied depending on their economic condition,” he said.
Shubhomita of Calcutta, who took online help from Support, has also got through IIMC. “I could not believe it. I was confused about my career and both Sandeep and Deepak have been my mentors all through,” said Karuna Tanwar of Delhi, who got through both Hindi & Radio/TV journalism courses of IIMC.
