Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday praised the achievements of students of naxal hit Chhattisgarh and their Chief Minister Raman Singh for giving due attention to education in the Naxal-affected areas of the state and helping the students to prepare for competitive engineering entrance exams.

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude saying Chhattisgarh have understood the importance and need for education and tried to help tribal students through schools to prepare for competitive exams and joint entrance examinations.

The Prime Minister today met in New Delhi, a group of tribal students from the Maoist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh who have been brought by the Chief Minister Raman Singh.

The students have cleared entrance examinations for getting into engineering institutes. The Prime Minister said there was acute poverty in the country and the biggest way to do away with it was to spread awareness about education.

Praising the achievements of the students, the Prime Minister said that he is aware of the difficult situations they have come through.

Dr. Singh praised the students for overcoming the turbulence due to Naxalism and focusing on education with courage.

He urged the children to make the best use of facilities provided to them by the government.