Dehradun: A taxi driver’s daughter in Bageshwar topped Uttarakhand’s intermediate results after studying after her grandfather’s prolonged illness and death, while a gardener’s daughter in Dehradun topped her school in Class 10 after her family left Uttar Pradesh when farming losses and losing their land made a fresh start inevitable. Among them, Geetika Pant and Nancy Dubey’s success in state boards was shaped by one bereavement and one pursuing a promise, the other by migration, financial stress and studying without private tuition.In Bageshwar, Geetika Pant of Saraswati Shishu Mandir Inter College, Chaurasi topped the intermediate exam by scoring 98%, sharing the top rank with Sushila Mehndiratta of Rudrapur. His family said that this result fulfilled the promise made to his grandfather Kevalanand Pant after topping the district in high school. He said that during his prolonged illness, before his death on August 2 last year, Geetika balanced her studies with taking care of him, feeding him, helping him walk and spending hours with him and even after his death she would often start her studies by paying respects in front of his photograph.His mother Rita Pant said that this journey was not easy. Geetika’s father, Chandrashekhar Pant, drives a taxi and managing household needs along with educational expenses was a constant challenge. He said the family also faced doubts about investing in private schooling, but they stuck to the decision. On the day the results were declared, family members said, Geetika first dedicated this achievement to her late grandfather. “I wish he were here today,” she said, as neighbors and relatives gathered to congratulate the family. Her subject-wise marks reflect the consistency of her preparation: 99 in Hindi, 98 in Mathematics, 99 in Physics, 94 in Chemistry and a perfect 100 in English. Now she wants to become an engineer.If Geetika’s outcome left a mark of mourning and carried a promise, Nancy Dubey’s outcome in Dehradun evolved from a family’s attempt to rebuild after agricultural loss. A Class 10 student of CNI Girls Inter College, she scored 83% and topped her school, but her family said the results started years ago in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, where repeated farming losses and ultimately the loss of their land forced them to leave. His father, Sunil Dubey, now works as a gardener in Dehradun and earns Rs 15,000 per month. “It was not an easy decision to leave home and ruin one’s entire life. But the idea was to overcome our past difficulties, earn more and provide better educational opportunities for our children,” he said.Nancy studied without private tuition because the family could not afford it, and her father said that both she and her younger brother learned to work within those limitations. “They are resourceful children. They know that we cannot afford private tuition. They sometimes attend free classes offered at an educational trust on Rajpur Road or depend on books donated to the school or the trust. So far we have managed to work on limited resources and hope that in the future too we will continue to support them in whatever way we can.”Even after the results came out, Nancy did not appear completely satisfied. “I was expecting more,” she told TOI. She has chosen the science stream and hopes to join the merchant navy. Her father said that even though he did not fully understand what that career path involved, he had no doubts about supporting her. “She called me to tell me that she had topped the school. No matter what her rank was, we would have been proud of her,” he said. The family said his younger brother, who studies in Class 8 in another school, is also doing well in studies.The Uttarakhand Board of School Education on Saturday declared the Class 10 and 12 results, with girls outperforming boys in both categories and the overall pass percentage improving compared to last year. Officials said the overall pass percentage in Class 10 stood at 92.1% and in Class 12 at 85.1%. In Class 10, around 1.1 lakh students were registered, with the pass percentage of girls being 96%, while the passing percentage of boys was 88%, while the overall result improved by 1.33 percentage points compared to last year. In Class 12, where nearly one lakh students were registered, girls recorded 88.1% against boys’ 82%, and the result increased by 1.9 percentage points.Among individual high performers, Akshat Gopal of MP Inter College, Ramnagar topped Class 10 with 98.20%. He scored full 100 marks in Mathematics and Science, said he did not take private tuition and credited his parents and teachers for the result. His father is a private school teacher and his mother is a housewife. Akshat said he studied for about two hours a day, increasing it to five hours during exams and seven hours on Sundays and now plans to take Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in Class 11 before moving on to engineering.Bhumika of GB Pant GIC Inter College, Khairna in Betalghat block of Nainital district secured third position in the state in class 10th with 490 out of 500 or 98% marks. He credited consistency, disciplined study habits and limited screen time for his performance, saying that he studied for one to two hours a day and increased it to seven hours during critical periods. She also took help of tuition and wants to do engineering like Akshat.In Rudrapur, Sushila Mehndiratta of Bhanjuram Amar Dev School, Bhurarani also shared the top position in Intermediate with Geetika by scoring 98%. What stood out as his achievement was that he prepared without coaching, instead he relied on self-study for about four hours daily and used his mobile phone only for academic work. His parents, Yogesh Mehndiratta and Mamta Mehndiratta, run a small boutique in the area. He said, “My goal is to become an IAS officer and serve the country.” His younger brother Arun also scored 87.8% marks in class 10th.Haridwar district, especially Roorkee and its surrounding rural areas, also featured strongly in the merit list of the state. In class 10th, Lavish of City Public School, Roorkee stood fifth in the state with 96.80% marks and became the district topper. Aarushi of RMP Prem Vidyalaya, Narsan secured 13th rank, followed by Ilma of Navyug Public High School, Satershah, Roorkee at 14th, Ayush Garg of Nanhi Duniya IC, Raisi at 15th, Sarika Hussain of Moon Kingdom PIC, Landhora at 18th and Gunjan Saini of Arya Kanya Pathshala, Roorkee at 23rd. Tania Khatun of Arya Kanya Pathshala, Roorkee secured 23rd position in Intermediate.Government Girls Inter College, Mangalore placed three students in the intermediate merit list with Inayat Zahra and Tashmiyan jointly securing 12th position and Mantasha standing 20th. Ramsha Mariam of RNI College, Bhagwanpur secured 10th rank. Misha of SABSP Inter College Imlikheda stood seventh and Nandini of the same college stood 18th. Tanisha C Raja of Balchand Saini Inter College, Dhanderi near Roorkee secured fourth rank, while Kakun Saini stood 19th. Other names from the district include Arzoo of Durga Modern Inter College, Mangalore at 21st position, Anisha of Vidya Vikasini College, Narsan at 23rd position and Vaishnavi of KKP Inter College, Mangalore at 25th position.Many entries were seen in the merit list even in the better institutes of Haridwar. In Class 12, Vanshika of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Mayapur stood third in the state with 97%, while Kashish Sharma of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Ranipur stood fourth with 96.6%. Both came from ordinary homes, Vanshika’s father worked as a driver and Kashish’s father worked in a factory in Sidewalk. Arun Sharma of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Mayapur secured 10th rank in Class 10 with 95.6%, while Gauravi of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Ranipur stood 15th with 93.8%. Shubham Awasthi of Ranipur School stood 16th with 92.8% and Kushvanshi Rajtilak of Mayapur stood 24th.By the time the district-wise numbers and qualifying posts had settled into their formal order, the day had taken on a more intimate shape: in one girl who kept studying during her grandfather’s illness and then dedicated a state rank to his memory, and in another whose family, after losing land and livelihoods, built a different future through self-study, free classes and whatever educational help they could get.
