With pass percentage of 56.1, Bathinda fares poorly

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 26

Children studying in schools affiliated to the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB)in Bathinda district fared poorly in the Class X examinations, the results of which were declared by the board today.

Out of 22 districts in the state, Bathinda stood 19th with only 56.12 per cent of the total students managing to clear the examinations. While Amritsar topped with 86.18 per cent pass percentage, only SAS Nagar, Jalandhar and Barnala trailed behind Bathinda district with 55.35, 55.21 and 51.230 pass percentages, respectively.

25 students make it to the merit list

While a total of 17,745 students had appeared for the examinations from Bathinda district, 9,958 students managed to pass. Of these, only 25 students could make it to the merit list released today. While 23 students from Bathinda made it to the academic merit list, two students made it to the merit list for candidates from the sports quota.

Girls outshine boys

This year too, girls of the district managed to outshine the boys. Of the total 25 students who managed to grab a place in the merit list, 21 are girls and only four are boys. In the state the girls outperformed the boys. While the pass percentage of girls was registered at 73.08, that of boys was only 60.19.

Shivani Garg, Parvin Kaur and Kashish Garg grabbed the first three positions in the district by securing 97.69, 97.54, and 97.23 per cent marks, respectively. In the merit list for sports persons, two girls from the district managed to make it. Among the sports candidates, Anshu and Surbhi secured the first and second positions in the district with 98.31 per cent and 97.85 marks, respectively. No boy from the district could make it to the merit list for sports.

Topper wants to be an IAS officer

Shivani Garg, who topped the district but secured the 45th rank in Punjab, said she wished to be an IAS officer. Securing high marks has not satiated her hunger for more achievements and she said she would pursue higher studies to realise her dream of becoming an IAS officer and serving the nation.

Her father Rajiv Garg, meanwhile, criticised the decision of the state government to give grace marks to students in sports quota and argued that academically, the two merit lists could not be compared.

Farmer’s daughter secures second place

Being born in the family of a farmer didn’t hamper the spirit of Parneet Kaur and she proved it by grabbing the second position in the district with 97.54 per cent marks. She stood at 59th place in the state. Parneet said she would now pursue her dream of bringing laurels to the family by taking up the medical stream and becoming a doctor.

Sports quota topper misses her father

State-level chess player Anshu was in a jubilant mood after she scored 98.31 per cent marks to top the merit list for sports students. However, she missed her father on the occasion and said her father, who died a couple of months ago, was her biggest support.

City topper wants to be an IPS officer

Robin Singh Dhillon, who secured 20th rank in the state and 9th in the district, bagged the first position in Bathinda city with 96.46 per cent marks. A student of MSD Senior Secondary School said he would not take up medical stream and aimed to become an IPS officer as his grandfather wanted it. He said he used to study for at least seven hours every day.

Shaffi wants to serve and heal people

Shaffi Singla, who secured the 23rd rank in the state and 18th in Bathinda district, stood second in Bathinda city. Also, a student of MSD Senior Secondary School, Shaffi stated that she would now take up the medical stream and become a doctor to achieve her aim of serving people by healing them.