Library set up by IIT Delhi alumni helps students clear JEE Main, NEET, government job exams

NEW DELHI : For Nikita yadav who hails from Khetiawas in Haryana, the library at Government Senior Secondary School, Pahari, is six kilometres away. Yet, every day, after sending her child to school, Yadav hops on her father-in-law’s motorcycle and makes her way to the library.

The library at Government Senior Secondary School, Pahari, is unlike any found in other government schools. Set up in 2019 with the help of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi’s alumni association, it has air-conditioned rooms, separate sections for men and women, eight computers, printers, 13,000 books, and wifi. The library has been a crucial addition for the Pahari village, which has only 73% literacy rate and 31.1 female literacy rate, according to the 2011 census.

For people like Nikita Yadav, 28 and preparing for the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test, the library provides free-of-cost access to information that would otherwise be too far or too expensive.

“We only became economically stable quite recently. So, I thought if I could work then I can support the family further,” said Yadav. “Now that my child is old enough to go to school I can start looking for jobs. The library provides a quiet place away from the business of the home. Here, I can prepare and stick to a schedule.”

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The library has already made an impact. By the villagers’ estimate, nearly 20 residents who frequented it were able to get into different Harayna government jobs. Some students who used it even got into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and National Institutes of Technology (NIT). It provides an inspiration to the rest of the aspirants from Pahari and the nearby villages.

IIT Delhi alumni

The library was set up thanks to the efforts of the IIT Delhi Alumni Association led by one of the villages’ own, Vinod Kumar Yadav, an alumnus of the Government Senior Secondary School, Pahari. He later went on to do his MSc and PhD from IIT Delhi.

Yadav said that he had a vision for a library long before he got into IIT Delhi but it was the institution that helped him realise this dream.

“When I was studying in the village I could see the difficulties. The family priorities were rearing buffaloes and meeting agriculture work, not education. Parents are also only focussing on government jobs. The major idea behind the library was that students start thinking of getting into IITs, IIMs,” said Yadav.

He believes in the “importance of an enabling environment”.

“If you provide them with that then they can fulfil their potential. Students in rural areas have potential but it is being neglected. When they see their neighbour study and become successful, it creates a competitive spirit,” said Yadav.

As secretary of the IIT Delhi Alumni Association in 2017-18, Yadav was able to submit proposals to several companies, including the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), to use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to help build a library there.

“The alumni association was the implementing agency. The funding was majorly through corporate CSR. IIT Delhi has a good reputation so people believe in the social branch. So, the proposal was accepted fairly quickly,” he said.

The library was funded in two phases. First, Rs 12 lakh was raised for constructing the buildings and later, ONGC gave Rs 18 lakh to finish the construction. The library was inaugurated in 2019 by V Ramgopal Rao, then director of IIT Delhi.

The library even employs a librarian who was initially paid by the gram panchayat. Now, his salary is covered by another private company based in Rewari.

Free library inspiring a village

The library has helped job aspirants by providing them with books for competitive exams close to home. Most of the library’s 13,000 books were donated by private companies and focus on recruitment and NTA NEET, NTA JEE Mains and other exams.

For pharmacy student Ritik Yadav, who is an SSC aspirant, it means not having to travel two hours to Rewari – the nearest town – for the same facilities. A daily commute from his village Khalilpur to Pahari, 3.4 km away, is much more convenient.

Rajbir Singh, whose son Vivek got into IIT Dhanbad this year, said that the library saved them both time and money.

“The library was really helpful. Many books for the JEE Main were available at the library. Otherwise, it would have cost Rs 1,500 per book. Vivek just took some online coaching and mostly studied from the library. It has helped others too. Around four-five people have got government jobs recently, some have cleared the NET exam,” said Singh.

Stories like these also inspire students who already frequent the library. Tejashwini, who is 18, and has taken a year-off to focus on writing the JEE Main 2025 , said that stories of people like Vivek Singh help her stay motivated.

Yadav, who played a crucial part in setting up the library, said that he was even contacted by the chief minister’s office to replicate this library system across government schools in Haryana. In 2020, Haryana’s deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala announced that it will set up similar libraries in every village to ensure that village students wouldn’t have to go to cities to prepare for competitive exams.