Children of farmers and labourers top the Bihar board exams, seek govt’s help for higher studies
Most of the toppers of the 10th board exams are from financially weak backgrounds. These children have proved that talent doesn’t lean on resources. They want to be IAS officers and engineers
Shubham Raj, 16, who lives in Majhua Beldari Tola in Purniya district of Bihar jumped with joy when he found out that he has secured 8th rank in the entire state in the matriculation (10th) examination. A confident Shubham told Gaon Connection over the phone that he was fully hopeful of such a result because he had worked hard for it. He also said that his parents and teachers were confident, too.
Shubham’s father, Hoolan Mahto, is a mason who works at construction sites. He is also extremely thrilled at his son’s achievement. “No matter how hard I have to work, I will educate my children all the way,” he said.
The eldest of the four brothers and sisters, Shubham is also aware that his father has struggled a lot so that he could study, so he also leaves no stone unturned. He said that he studies 6-7 hours a day and wants to prepare for the IAS after graduating from the science stream. He is hopeful that now that he is on the merit list, the family will get some help from the government and his younger siblings will have it easy.
The result of the Bihar board matriculation (10th) examination was announced on May 26. Out of 14,94,071 students, a total of 80.59%, or 12,02,030, students have passed the examination. Out of these, 4,03,392 students passed in the first division, 5,24,217 in the second division and 2, 75,402 in the third division. The list of toppers also includes the names of children who, defying their weak economic background and circumstances, once again proved that talent doesn’t lean on resources, provided it is nurtured in the right direction.
The examination has been topped by Himanshu Raj of Rohtas district who has secured 481 points out of 500. Himanshu Raj is a resident of Natwar Kala village of Tenuaj Panchayat in Rohtas district, which is also known as the paddy bowl of Bihar. Like Shubham, the economic condition of Himanshu’s house is poor too. His father, Subhash Singh, is a small farmer who feeds his family by selling vegetables and crops every day in the local market and by giving private tuition to children. He informed that he has no land of his own and cultivates upon land that he rents from others.
Talking to Gaon Connection, Himanshu said that he was confident of making it to the topper’s list, but couldn’t have thought of topping the entire state. He said that he used to study for more than 10 hours a day and also assisted his father in the fields in his spare time. Earlier, his elder sister had also made it to the toppers list of the district by scoring 88% in the matriculation examination. Himanshu now wants to prepare for the IIT and wishes to become a software engineer.
Like Shubham, Himanshu’s father also hopes for some help from the government to facilitate future studies of his prodigious son. According to a report, the Bihar board toppers are given laptops and financial assistance by the government. The topper gets Rs 1 lakh and a laptop, the second topper Rs 75,000 and a laptop, the third topper Rs 50,000 and a laptop and the others on the top-10 list are given Rs 10,000 and laptops.
These toppers and their parents hope that this government aid is provided to them at the earliest so that further studies of these children can continue unimpeded, said Shambhu Mahto, whose son Shubham Mahto has secured the fourth rank. Shambhu is an agricultural labourer in Lakhisarai, who earns his livelihood by cultivating and working for wages in the fields of others.
Talking to Gaon Connection, he said: “It is not so easy to educate four children, so my two elder daughters have given up their studies after passing class twelfth. If we get help from the government, it will be of great help in educating Sannu.” He said even after securing the fourth rank, his son has not yet received any call from the local officers or political leaders due to which he is a little disappointed. Sannu wants to prepare for the civil services exam.
According to a report by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Bihar ranks second after Assam in the country in the dropout rate after matriculation (10th). According to this report, about 32 per cent of the students in Bihar drop out after 10th. The percentage of girl students is 33.7 and the percentage of boy students is 30.3.
Jyoti Kumari, a resident of Harpur village in Samastipur district, has secured the sixth position by scoring 475 out of 500. Being the youngest among the three brothers and sisters, Jyoti takes inspiration from his mother, who works in the social service sector. Jyoti’s father is a marginal farmer who runs the household by growing crops and vegetables in his small field while her elder brother is staying in Patna and coaching children and preparing for the Bihar Civil Services. Jyoti also wants to succeed in Bihar PCS and serve the people of her state.
Another student from Samastipur, Durgesh secured 480 points in 500 and stood second in the board exam. Durgesh is a student of SK High School at Jitwarpur in Samastipur and his father, a farmer, has left no stone unturned for his son’s studies. Durgesh wants to pursue engineering from the IIT, so he has concentrated upon physics, chemistry and mathematics.
Talking to Gaon Connection over the phone, he said that he studies eight to ten hours a day. When asked about the thick glasses over his eyes, he laughed that he had glasses since his childhood and they had thickened due to studies over time. However, this doesn’t bother him much while he focuses upon making his dream of studying in the IIT come true by working hard.