In the contemporary milieu, a recurrent lamentation among the younger generation pertains to the dearth of resources for the qualification of competitive or occupational examinations. Nevertheless, Praveen, a nascent luminary hailing from the Mancherial district of Telangana, has metamorphosed into an exemplar for his peers by not only surmounting one but three distinct job examinations, all the while fulfilling the duties of a night watchman.
Praveen, a scion of Ponakal in the Mancherial district, has successfully navigated the rigors of TGT, PGT, and junior lecturer examinations within the precincts of Welfare Gurukul Schools and Junior Colleges concurrently.
Upon introspection of his extraordinary accomplishment, Praveen elucidated that he toiled assiduously to secure governmental employment, spurred by witnessing the adversities his progenitors endured to facilitate his education. Despite Ponakal being a preeminent Panchayat village in the Manchiryala district, avenues for occupation were conspicuously lacking, Praveen contended.
“My parents, unversed in academia, toil diligently; my father a mason and my mother engaged in beedi work. However, their earnings fail to satiate our basic sustenance needs. Hence, I resolved firmly to pursue education, harboring the belief that a job post-academic completion could emancipate us from impoverishment,” he added.
Following the culmination of his intermediate education, Praveen embarked upon a sojourn to Hyderabad in 2013 to pursue B.Com. He subsequently attained M.Com and B.Ed degrees from Osmania University. Initially, Praveen faced a setback in the teacher recruitment examination, falling short by a mere half-percent. “Upon this, my parents urged my return home, but I avowed to return solely with a secured government position,” affirmed Praveen.
“Thirty of my peers from the B.Ed program secured teaching positions, causing profound despondency in me. For six months, I roamed the campus directionless, eschewing academic pursuits. The absence of a job notwithstanding, my resolve rekindled when my mother questioned my prolonged stay. I had ventured to Hyderabad with the aspiration of escaping destitution,” Praveen recounted.
Despite the completion of postgraduate and education degrees, Praveen assumed the role of a night watchman at Osmania University to surmount financial exigencies, unabashed by societal judgments. Expressing his rationale, Praveen articulated his determination to at least cater to his own expenses. His employment as a night watchman commenced five years ago, soon after the culmination of his studies on campus, drawing a monthly remuneration of Rs 6,000.
In November 2022, Praveen proactively applied for positions advertised by the Welfare Gurukul Board. “I immersed myself in exhaustive study, day and night, in anticipation of securing employment. The examinations were undertaken in August, and upon scrutinizing the answer key two months hence, my conviction of obtaining a position solidified. Tears welled in my eyes as Chief Minister Revanth Reddy presented me with the appointment letter for the PGT position at LB Stadium,” recounted Praveen with emotion.