TV Gopinath, father of chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gita Gopinath, said he would support the higher education of Jyothi Lakshmi, a II PU student who scored 97% amid severe hardship. Hours after TOI published a report about the student of Mahajana PU College, raised by a single mother who lost her job in the pandemic, Gopinath met the girl and promised to fund her studies. He visited the college along with farmer leader Kuraburu Shantha Kumar, who is the state president of Sugarcane Growers Association, and met Jyothi and college principal Umarani. Gita Gopinath was also a student of Mahajana’s College. Gita Gopinath, whose parents have been in Mysuru since the 70s, did her primary education at Nirmala Convent and PUC at Mahajana’s College. She went on to study at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and later, at Princeton University. College principal Umarani said Gopinath advised Jyothi Lakshmi to study in Delhi and pursue her aspirations. Jyothi wants to study chartered accountancy and has set her sights on IAS. The teenager received a fee waiver at the college after she secured over 90% marks in I PU examination. Jyothi, whose mother lost her job as a cleaner at a hotel due to the lockdown, has three siblings as well. She has been giving free tuitions to children in the locality as schools are shut due to the lockdown.