With 98.8%, M’garh village girl third in CBSE XII exams

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Mahendragarh, May 25

Poonam Kumari of Surjanvaas village of Mahendragarh distirct has brought laurels to the district and the state by securing third position in the country in the CBSE XII exams.

Poonam, a student of Happy Evergreen Senior Secondary School in Mahendragarh city, has obtained 98.8 per cent marks (494 out of 500) in the results declared today. Her father, Kanwar Singh, is serving as a JCO with the 97 Medium Regiment in Jammu and her mother, Bhateri Devi, is a house maker.

“It is unbelievable. I never thought I would be among the top five candidates int he country. I still can’t believe I have stood third,” said Poonam, a student of non-medical stream.

Giving credit to her parents and teachers, she said her father, mother and teachers always motivated her to give her best in the examination. “My father came home in January and encouraged me a lot to enjoy studies for better performance. During exam days, he talked to me daily on phone and advised me not to worry. He said I must enjoy whatever I do. This was my matra to success,” she said.

On being asked about her aim, Poonam said she hadn’t thought in this regard as yet. She would decide what to do after consulting her parents and teachers. She said she had chosen science in Class XI without setting any target.

Bhateri Devi, a proud mother, said, “I never asked her to do household work and always encouraged her to study. She proved herself by performing outstandingly.”