Small town kids who missed the top slot by a whisker

With the results of this year’s SSLC examinations, the focus has shifted away from urban centres to smaller towns and villages of the state.

Students from Kalaburagi, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada districts share the second spot, scoring 624 out of 625 marks.

Sonali Biradar from Kalaburagi was hoping to score at least 96% but was pleasantly surprised to see her score of 624 out of 625. She is a student of Chandrakant  Patil Public School, Kusnur, and though she did not attend tuitions, she used to teach herself by watching videos online. Sonali wants to become a doctor. Her father Devanand, who owns a dal mill, said that Sonali’s teachers had predicted that she would bring laurels to the school.

Nandini M Naik from Kundapura lost her father 10 years ago and since then she has been helping her mother Surekha Naik, an anganwadi worker, in household chores. Nandini, a student of Nirmala Convent, scored full marks in all subjects except Science, in which she lost one mark. “I used to discuss difficult topics with my teachers. My grandfather also supported me a lot. My sister is studying engineering and I want to study medicine,” Nandini said.

Hemanth Lakshminarayana Shastry of Rajarajeshwari High School in Manchikeri near Yellapur has secured 624 marks, without going to tuitions. His parents made the best tutors as father L V Shastry is a lecturer in a government college and mother Sunanda Shastry is the headmistress of a primary school.

Ishwara Seetharam Joshi of Pragathi Vidyalaya, Mooruru in Kumta taluk, Uttara Kannada district secured full marks in all subjects, except science. His father Seetharam Joshi is a priest and mother Saraswathi Joshi runs a small business. Ishwara wants to become a mechanical engineer.

Vachan Raghavendra, a student of United School, has emerged topper for Hassan district and one of the toppers in the state. “I studied according to the time table set by my mother and also attended special coaching classes organised by the school,” he said. Jayani R Nath from Mangaluru balanced her studies with her interests in drawing, swimming and music.

The student of St Agnes School said, “I used to study for three to four hours a day. Being systematic and guidance from teachers helped me to excel.” Jayani aims to become a doctor or an architect. She has also taken part in district-level throwball competitions.