PUNE: Swati Dabhade , who took a four-year gap after standard XII (HSC) because she could not afford studies, completed her MCom and on Thursday topped the women’s category in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examination for the deputy collector’s post.Ashish Barkul from Solapur is the overall topper in the state. As many as 20 candidates were selected for the post.Swati, a farmer’s daughter, had to give up her education after passing HSC. She is from Talegaon Dabhade where her parents grow vegetables on an acre of land.Manohar Bhole, her tutor at Unique Academy where Swati trained for the exam, said her mother is a vegetable vendor. “Swati’s feat of getting back to education and bagging a deputy collector’s post in the face of immense competition is amazing,” he said.Swati completed her degree and later her post graduation in commerce while simultaneously preparing for the civil services exams. She was selected last year for the naib tehsildar 's post but appeared for the exam again this year. She stayed at a women’s hostel in Sadashiv Peth while preparing for the exam.Swati tutored at home during the four-year gap in education. “When I would teach children, I felt there was no alternative to education. I gathered courage and took admission in a college. I topped in all three years and was the general secretary in the final year,” she told TOI.An inspirational talk by an MPSC candidate in her college changed her life and she decided to give civil services a shot. “By then, my parents were open to educating me. Today is a dream come true. I was the first graduate in my family and now I am the first to clear the civil services exam,” she said.

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