GUWAHATI: A truck driver’s son in Assam secured second position in the class X final examination, the results of which were declared by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam on Wednesday.
Nurul Hoque of government-run Raghunath Choudhury HS School in Mukalmua of western Assam’s Nalbari district missed the top spot by just one mark. He scored 588 out of a total 600 marks.
Parthapratim Bhuyan of Jatiya Vidyalaya in Tihu, also in Nalbari district, secured the top spot with 589 marks.
Nurul’s father, Mustafa Ali, ekes out a living by transporting goods in his second-hand truck.
“He has made us proud. He has been thoroughly sincere in his studies and we knew he will do wonders,” Ali told the New Indian Express. His two other children, both daughters, are pursuing graduation and post-graduation in humanities.
Nurul attributed his success to his family and teachers. “It was due to the love, blessings and guidance of my parents, sisters and teachers that I could achieve it. But my job is half done as I have to do well in class 12 as well. I will think of a career after that,” he said.
His school principal, Sudarshan Pathak, said, “It was Nurul’s hard work that paid off. He has brought glory to our school after 13 years. Two of our students were among toppers in 1997 and 2004”.
This year’s overall 47.94 pass percentage has been the lowest in 15 years despite “grace marks” to inflate the success rate. Last year, it was 62.79 per cent.
Of the 29 students who figured in the top 10, six were from Dibrugarh district, five from Barpeta, three each from Darrang, Jorhat and Nalbari, two each from Lakhimpur, Sivasagar and Sonitpur and one each from Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Nagaon.