On July 15, Sudheesh K. from Kodaikanal aka Sudhi Kodaikanal who runs The Hammock Homestays & Cottages in the picturesque hill station in Tamil Nadu put up a Facebook post where he announced that he would offer a free stay for students who failed in Class 10 Kerala SSLC exam.
Sudhi intends to provide moral support to the students who are made to feel bad due to bad results.
“Ever since the Class 10 results were announced, there has been a lot of victory sharing in social circles. What we often do not see is the other side of this. There is a segment that is being ostracised and ridiculed for having failed. So, I thought of offering something in my capacity to help them deal with the crisis,” said Sudhi to Life Beyond Numbers.
The 40-year-old lives in Kodaikanal since he joined a resort after completing his hotel management course in 2003. He finds the location very refreshing and thinks that the environment will help the students shed their stress. He has also roped in counselors for guidance as part of his offer.
“The place is silent and away from all craziness. It is the ideal place to get away from all stress and get refreshed. It isn’t like old times, during my school days. Then, a failure would be taken in its stride. Now, students are under tremendous pressure. And passing the tenth standard is a matter of prestige for the family. A little bit of time away from this stress can work wonders for the kids and their parents,” he said.
The whole thing went viral like anything and he has received more than 500 calls from students and parents enquiring the same. Sudhi tries his best to answer them all and also console the students.
“I am not able to manage the barrage of phone calls. Some even call me at 1 AM or 3 and 4 in the morning. I try and console them that this is not the last exam they’d be taking,” said Sudheesh.
The three homestay properties that he runs mostly have five-six bedrooms and so he has asked his friends to chip in and open up their properties for the kids.
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“I am not a big shot but I would like to accommodate every genuine student from Kerala and his/her family. I have also sought help from my friends who have similarly agreed to open up their properties for these students,” he informed.
The offer is open only till July 31. The students need to produce their Class 10 Certificate and should arrive with their families for the stay.
“This is not a publicity stunt. I did not even mention the name of my homestay in the Facebook post,” he clarified.
SSLC was conducted from April 8 to 29 and the results were declared on July 14. Out of the 4.19 lakh students who appeared for the exam, over 2,000 students failed.