Fighting odds, these girls make their way to top
They rose above their grim financial conditions, overcame out all odds and defied stereotypes to come with flying colours in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class-12 exams, results of which were declared on Saturday.
Meet Rajni Kumari, Sumandeep Kaur and Ruksana Bano, who have topped the Jalandhar district in non-medical, commerce and humanities streams, respectively. While Rajni is daughter of a bus conductor, Sumandeep’s father works as a labourer and Ruksana’s father is a tailor.
Suman Kumari, mother of Rajni, who bagged fourth position in the state (97.78%) and topped the district in non-medical stream, said: “I wish my husband, who is a bus conductor in Delhi, was here to celebrate the proud moment.”
A student of Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students, Rajni wants to be a maths teacher as she got full marks in the subject. “My hard work has paid off,” said Rajni.
District commerce topper Sumandeep, also a student of meritorious school, scored 95.56% marks. Her father, Balvir Singh, a labourer, had tears in his eyes seeing her daughter getting clicked by lensmen and correspondents taking her interview. “My father earns only ₹4,000 a month, but he has always fulfilled our demands,” said Sumandeep, adding that she wants to join the media.
Besides studies, the commerce topper said that she likes to debate and often takes part in declamation contests.
A resident of Noorpur village in Jalandhar district, Ruksana scored 93.56% marks in humanities. A student of Senior Secondary Girls School, Nehru Garden, Ruksana likes to read Munshi Premchand. Her father Mohammad Eliyas said his daughter has fulfilled his dreams. “The grim financial condition of the family will never come in her way,” he said. Diya with 95.11% marks topped in the medical stream in the district. She wants to become a doctor. Her father Rakesh Passi runs a crockery shop.