CHENNAI: Caught in the middle of Sri Lanka’s civil war, Sampavi was all of seven years old, when she fled to Chennai with her mother and two siblings, in early 2009. Her father, Pushpakanthan, had gone missing during the war, and was later declared dead. Today, she has the makings of a fighter, having scored 466 out of 500 in her 10th board exam.
“I studied in Sri Lanka until class 2 and then moved here. English was the toughest for me... I was good at the rest of the subjects. My mother also knows only Tamil. But now, I think I’ve a fair grasp of the language,” said Sampavi. A student of Everwin Matriculation Higher Secondary school, she also holds a black belt in Karate. The first few years after her father’s passing was the toughest for the family but Sampavi’s mother, Ushanthini, has held it all together.
“With three children in the house, she takes care of all the household work. Not once has she complained nor has she asked me to do chores around the house. My work is only to wake up at 5 am and study,” Sampavi said. Sampavi wants to take up the Bio-Maths group and pursue medicine. Apart from her mother, her Tamil teacher in class 9, Chandra, has been instrumental in helping her score marks, she said. “She is a Tamil teacher but she helped me with all subjects. I could not have scored so much without her,” she said.
She had always been a good student and will continue to shine, said her mother, Ushanthini.“When we first came to the City, we were taken in by a relative. Even now, a large part of our expenses are taken up by generous relatives including my children’s education expenses. But it’s only for a few days. My daughter will shine in whatever she chooses,” she said.
0.7% increase in class-X pass percentage
The State recorded 95.2 pass percentage in the Class 10 Board Examinations that was announced on Monday. It is a slight increase of 0.7 per cent when compared to the previous year and has been driven by government and boys schools which have witnessed increase of 1.1 and 1.4 per cent, respectively.