Three former Maoists from Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region have cleared the Class 10 examination with first-division marks after giving up arms and returning to mainstream life.

Geeta Narote, 35, Arjun Oyam, 32, and Santosh Achla, 31, passed the exam conducted by the Chhattisgarh State Open School. Their past association with the Maoist organisation had earlier kept them from completing formal education.

Narote, once a divisional committee member, wants to become a nurse. “I could not study when I was young. Now, I do not want to lose this opportunity and want to make the most of it,” she said.

Oyam, a former area committee member, hopes to become a teacher and inspire children in his village to study. Achla wants to pursue higher studies, take up farming and eventually start a business.

According to Bastar Police, 210 former Maoists surrendered in 2025 under the government’s rehabilitation scheme, and seven of them cleared the Class 10 exam. Study material was provided free of cost.