Overview
- Eight former Maoist cadres from Bastar cleared the Chhattisgarh State Open School Class 10 exam after taking the test held in August and seeing results declared last month.
- Three of the passers — Geeta Narote, Arjun Oyam and Santosh Anchla — secured first division, while the other five also plan further study or livelihoods in teaching, nursing, farming or small business.
- Most of the successful candidates had dropped out as children and later joined the insurgency; seven belonged to a group of about 210 cadres who surrendered in October 2025.
- Local officials say each surrenderee received a ₹50,000 rehabilitation grant, which some used to buy books and study materials, and that some candidates are staying at Triveni Parisar, a police rehabilitation facility in Jagdalpur.
- Authorities frame education as a reintegration tool that can help reduce recidivism and create jobs, while former cadres say passing Class 10 is the first concrete step toward nursing courses, village teaching and other civilian work.