Parkash Kumar, the son of a poor mason, placed first in Sindh and fourth nationally in the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT).
Kumar, a student from a government school in Badin's coastal district, placed first out of 7,797 Sindh kids and fourth out of a record 194,133 students who took the MDCAT from August to October.
He went with his father, Chando Mal, and the rest of his family to Ghulab Laghari, a small town in Badin district close to Tharparkar district, some 15 years ago. He was born in a distant village Kharyo Ghulam Shah, some 30 kilometres from Islamkot city in the sand-swept Tharparkar area.
He completed his primary and intermediate school at Ghulab Laghari before enrolling at Higher Secondary School Chambar in Tando Allah Yar district, eight kilometres distant. "Getting to Chambar wasn't simple," Kumar remarked.
His father earns just Rs1,200 a day but works hard to ensure that all of his children receive a good education. "We went to this town to make a nice living," Kumar explained. "We live in a leased house," he explained, "but my father wants me to receive an education."
Kumar grinned as he said, "This is just the beginning of the adventure." "I want to be a medical specialist," he stated, adding that his family has promised to financially assist him.
Kumar feels he will continue to gain positions on his next voyage since he is determined to be a student at Dow Medical College.
Kumar has inspired many impoverished pupils, according to Partab Shivani, an activist and educator from Tharparkar. "He has also demonstrated that with hard effort and dedication, even the most difficult endeavour can be accomplished."
Despite the absence of science teachers and adequately equipped science laboratories, Shivani claims that pupils like Kumar outperform many children who attend private and expensive institutions.
Kumar is one of Tharparkar's best pupils who excelled in the test. "Every year, many students gain seats at various universities but are unable to pay for fees and other expenditures," Shivani explained. "The [provincial] government could offer scholarships for needy and brilliant students so that they can continue their study without difficulty," he recommended.
Kumar received a gold medal and a monetary prize of Rs200,000 during an award event in Islamabad that was attended by education officials, including Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood.
