Desk top

Information technology education is coveted by high school graduates in overpopulated India.

So it’s not surprising that as the country’s top IT college, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) attracts more than a million applicants yearly who vie for the nearly 18,000 slots on its 23 campuses nationwide.

Atul Kumar, 18, was among the lucky applicants after he passed the tough IIT Dhanbad entrance test in June. He had to pay 17,500 rupees in admission fees though.

Kumar’s father, Rajendra, was turned back by a money lender two hours before the fee payment deadline, BBC reported. Fortunately, friends chipped in 14,000 rupees and he added his 3,500 rupees savings to raise the needed amount.

The father quickly deposited the money to the bank account of his eldest son, who immediately went online to beat the three minutes remaining time to pay. Unfortunately, the IIT payment portal suddenly froze and Atul missed the deadline, recalled Rajendra, according to BBC.

The Kumars from Muzaffarnagar in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh were shocked that IIT rejected Atul’s admission. The family sought help from college authorities to no avail, so they went to the courts.

The case reached the Supreme Court which recently ruled in favor of Kumar. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that IIT Dhanbad had no reason to oppose Kumar’s admission when he had the money to pay the fee and ordered the college to create an additional seat for Atul in the current batch, according to BBC.

Meanwhile, sickly students in the United Kingdom cannot be denied an education due to absences through an innovative proxy system.

Norwegian company No Isolation developed the substitute that can be rented for around £150 ($200) per month, or bought for £3,700 (less $4,960), plus a yearly service fee of £780 in the UK.

The head-and-torso mini robot called AV1 is placed on top of a desk to serve as the absent student’s eyes, ears and voice, helping him or her to stay connected with their classmates, CNN reports.

Equipped with a camera, microphone and speaker, the robot is remotely controlled by the student using an app.

“The student can talk to the teacher and classmates through the speaker, and the app has a raise hand option that makes a light flash on the robot’s head. They can also select emojis that display in the robot’s eyes,” CNN quoted Florence Salisbury, marketing director for No Isolation.

“During a long absence, where classmates might not see their friend for an extended period, this connection to school really becomes a lifeline for that student, especially for those with a medical condition,” Salisbury said, according to CNN.