Meet Class 10 toppers: Bala from Maoist zone, Anjum from poor family

RAIPUR: Adversities in life sometimes test a person’s mettle, just the way it did in two young girls from the back of the beyond in Chattisgarh. They triumphed over the odds to excel in the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education, as the two toppers. The Class X Board results were declared by the state school education minister Premsai Singh Tekam in Raipur on Saturday. In all 74.23 percent of students passed with the girls (at 78.84 percent) again outperforming the boys (69.07 percent).

Among the girls who cleared the boards, Sonali Bala’s case is altogether stunning. Living under the shadow of terror at remote Gondahur in the Maoist-affected Kanker district, she is topped her batch scoring 98.67 percent. Another girl Roshan Kahef Anjum, daughter of a poor welder mechanic from the Gaurela-Pendra district secured 98.17 percent and stood second rank. Gondahur is considered a hotbed of Maoist activities and Sonali, who secured top spot, had to additionally face the problem of the power cuts in her village during night hours.

“Perseverance and hard work pays only if we study through the year,” she said. Anjum’s father could barely afford to pay the school fees for his daughter but was always keen to get her enrolled in a good school. “Anjum from a very poor family has consistently performed well academically. She remained calm and focused. We exempted her from the routine school fees. It’s a rare feat for her from a backward district,” said Shahid Zaman, director of GreensValley Convent School.

“With a firm belief in one’s potential and hard work, we can overcome any hurdle in life and achieve success,” asserted Anjum. Interestingly both the topper girls expressed their wish to pursue the medical profession and serve the needy. The results of Class XII were also declared by the CGBSE on Saturday with a total pass percentage of 79.30 %.