Hindustan Times (Patiala)

Marginalis­ed farmer’s daughter is topper

- Sunil Rahar sunil.kumar3@htlive.com

I focused on selfstudy and never took coaching. I will make every effort to join the Indian Army KAJAL NEHRA, topper

I had a dream to top the board exam, but I missed the golden opportunit­y by two marks. I studied for 12 to 14 hours to achieve this feat

MUSKAN, second position holder

ROHTAK: Defeating all odds, Kajal, daughter of a marginalis­ed farmer, Ravat Nehra, from Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s native village Nindana in Rohtak, has topped the Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH) Class 12 exams by scoring 498 marks out of 500.

Kajal, a student of humanities (arts), said she wanted to join the Indian Army and serve the nation. “My father used to take land on lease for farming to earn livelihood for our family. My mother is a homemaker. I focused on self-study and never took coaching. I will make every effort to join the Indian Army,” the topper added.

Mahender Sharma, principal of KCM Public Senior Secondary School at Nindana, said Kajal was good in studies since childhood and had grabbed second rank in the state in Class 10 exams.

Humble background­s no hindrance for Haryana toppers

Muskan, a student of SD Girls School in Jind’s Narwana, and Sakshi of Pehowa in Kurukshetr­a shared the second position with 496 marks each, while Shruti of Hisar and Poonam of Palwal got the third rank by securing 495 marks.

All these toppers come from humble background­s. Muskan, Sakshi and Poonam are aspiring to become chartered accountant­s.

Muskan said her father Ramesh

Kumar Singla is a shopkeeper and mother Mamta is a housewife.

“I had a dream to top the board exam, but I missed the golden opportunit­y by two marks. I studied for 12 to 14 hours to achieve this feat,” she added.

Sakshi’s father Ram Singh runs a flour mill at Pehowa, while Shruti’s father is a farmer.

With 496 marks out of 500, Sakshi has topped the commerce stream and scored perfect 100 in English and accounts.

“I never took tuition, but from day one my focus was on selfstudy as I used to revise whatever my teachers taught in the

class,” she added. Congratula­ting Sakshi on her achievemen­t, her teacher Rajni Kaushik said that she is a brilliant student.

Shruti, who also relied on selfstudy to ace the board exam, said wants to become an IAS officer. So does Kriti Dindyal, daughter of a Karnal farmer, who has secured third position in the humanities stream. A student of Maharishi Ved Vyas Senior Secondary School in Bastli, she dedicated around eight hours to study every day.

Can’t fund daughter’s further studies: Third topper’s father

Mukesh Kumar, father of third

topper Poonam , a resident of Palwal, said he has studied till Class 10 and his wife is a housewife.

“My daughter Poonam guides and motivates herself. She is aspiring to be a CA, but I don’t have enough money to fund her studies. I used to cultivate three acres of land and it is not sufficient to run the household. The state government should provide financial help to my daughter so that she can fulfil her dream,” said Kumar.

Khattar congratula­tes students

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has extended heartfelt congratula­tions and best wishes to all students who have successful­ly passed Class 12 examinatio­n.

“Girls have achieved the topthree positions. This is a great example of women empowermen­t. Various schemes run by the government for girls have boosted their confidence and they are making progress in every field,” he added.

 ?? MANOJ DHAKA/HT ?? Haryana board Class-12 topper Kajal Nehra with her teachers at Rohtak's Nindana village in Rohtak on Wednesday.
MANOJ DHAKA/HT Haryana board Class-12 topper Kajal Nehra with her teachers at Rohtak's Nindana village in Rohtak on Wednesday.

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