Girls from humble background excel

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 22

Girl students have again outshone boys in the district in the Class X examinations conducted by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) the results of which have been declared today.

Of the top three positions in the district, the first and thesecond spots were bagged by girl students.

With the pass percentage in the district remaining at 46.90, schools with a low pass percentage will face the music this year.

“Action will be taken against schools with a low pass percentage this year,” said District Education Officer (DEO) Harinder Pal.

He said one of the reasons behind the low pass percentage was the government move refusing to give grace marks to students.

Jyoti Mahey, daughter of a labourer, Kewal Chand, who stitches football to earn his livelihood, bagged the first position in the district in the district with 97.23 per cent by scoring 632 out of 650 marks.

“Credit for my success goes to my parents who provided me with the kind of atmosphere to study hard and my school teachers who supported me unconditionally during my studies,” said Jyoti, who was elated over her success.

She said she studied on her own and took help from teacher, where needed, as I could not afford extra tuitions.

“My family could hardly managed to pay my school fee, how can I take tuitions,” she said.

Jyoti,who is aspiring to pursue the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), said she did not watch TV for the past three years as her family could not afford to get a new one after the old one got damaged.

Speaking about her study schedule, she said: “I used to study in a normal schedule, where I could easily managed to get time for rejuvenation,” she added.

Speaking on her success, her father Kewal Chand said Dr BR Ambedkar was the role model of Jyoti and she worked hard to follow his footprints.

“I have two daughters. I work 12 hours a day to feed my family and to provide the children education. No one can stop them if they have decided to do something in their life,” he added.

Sukhjit Singh bagged the second position in the district with 96.77 per cent marks by scoring 629 marks out of 650.

Aiming to be a chartered accountant (CA), Sukhjit has already taken commerce stream in Class XI.

Son of a businessman, Sukhjit said: “I followed such a study schedule that I could easily get time for playing football and watching my favourite shows on television. My parents never forced me to study as I used to study 1 to 2 hours daily after school hours and during examinations, I extended my study time to 5 to 6 hours. I never missed my homework.”

He said, “My parents and school teachers provided me full support as I was not in favour of taking private tuitions. My teachers were really helpful.”

Vaishali has managed to get the third position in the district by securing 96.46 per cent marks (627 out of 650) in the examinations.

She gives credit of her success to her parents and teachers.

“It was a teamwork of my parents and teacher, who provided me with a platform to perform better. I did full-time study along with private tuitions.”

Daughter of a labourer, Vaishali said she had set a target to bring her school on the merit list. But what she has got now was more than the expectations.

“Since I want to make my career in the banking sector, I have already taken commerce stream for further education”, she said.