After studying at a private school for seven years, Vanishree K K shifted to a Government Junior College for high school in Peenya. She topped the Bangalore North district with 96 per cent in 2012 Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination.
On Wednesday, Vanishree and 22 other district and taluk SSLC toppers received brand new desktops from Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri at a programme organised by the Department of Public Instruction.
“I joined a government school as I saw better opportunities for co-curricular activities and qualified teaching staff. I am really happy to receive this computer as I am studying computer science course in I PUC right now,” said Vanishree, who aspires to become an aeronautical engineer.
Another topper, Seema Fakhruddin, who secured 89 per cent said, “I do not have formal training to use a computer as my school did not have a computer teacher. My father is supportive and wants me to study as high as I can.”
As many as 324 district and taluk SSLC toppers from government schools will receive new desktops in a scheme that was launched in 2010, when 108 SSLC toppers got computers, followed by 106 in 2011.
This year, the programme had a budget allocation of `1.04 crore. “We wanted to encourage more students this year and raised the bar to include one topper from each taluk, besides three from each district,” Kageri said.
The minister used the opportunity to hit back at critics who say that the quality of education in private schools was better than government schools.
“Look at one student from a government school in Teerthahalli who got 617 out of 625 in the SSLC exam. This is for those who look towards private schools for good results,” he said.