1 hour ago
1
S.S. Jenifer, a 30-year-old nonmigratory of Karuppur successful Kumbakonam, who was among the children who had a constrictive flight successful the Kumbakonam schoolhouse occurrence tragedy that claimed 94 children successful 2004, has hogged limelight successful the precocious held Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) Group-I examinations by securing 15th rank.
Congratulatory messages proceed to determination successful for Ms. Jenifer, who opted for Assistant Director of Panchayat successful the Department of Rural Development successful the counselling conducted by the TNPSC successful Chennai connected Tuesday (June 16, 2026), and her parents Santhana Selvam, a retired Livestock Inspector and Sujatha, an worker successful a backstage company, successful Kumbakonam.
Ms. Jenifer was 9 and studying successful Class 4 successful the Krishna English Medium School erstwhile the calamity struck connected July 16, 2004. Seconds earlier the occurrence dispersed to the crushed level of the school, wherever she was doing people work, she managed to tally distant from the spot and escaped unhurt on with her member Arjun, who was studying Class 1 then.
After spending days of trauma, Ms. Jenifer resumed her studies successful Sri Madha Matriculation School and scored 1094 marks successful the Plus Two examinations. Having seen the station calamity alleviation and rehabilitation measures of senior IAS serviceman J. Radhakrishnan, who was the Collector of Thanjavur territory erstwhile the occurrence calamity occurred, Ms. Jenifer claims she developed the aspiration of being a civilian servant. She appeared for the Union Public Service Commission’s examinations connected a fewer occasions. However, she could not wide them and yet opted for the TNPSC examinations. After astir 10 years of mentation and repeated attempts, perseverance, hard enactment and determination person rewarded Ms. Jenifer.
“The occurrence calamity inactive haunts my memory. It could person been avoided if the rules and regulations connected information had been enforced. No schoolhouse successful our State should beryllium progressive successful occurrence accidents successful the aboriginal owed to mediocre information standards. I privation to dedicate my vocation to physique arsenic galore exemplary schoolhouse buildings successful agrarian areas arsenic imaginable that guarantee the information of children studying successful the schools,” says Ms. Jenifer.
“There were days of dejection and failures tested my patience and challenged my determination. But the accordant information of my mother, who wanted maine to beryllium financially independent, and my begetter and my friends has made maine to wide the Group I examination,” says Ms. Jenifer.
