Most students believe that success is impossible without being a bookworm. But the students who topped Class 10 Board Exams have proven it wrong. They believe success is a gradual process which required steady and consistent efforts, Junaid Nabi Bazaz reports.
On Monday afternoon, when Class 10 Board Exam results were declared, Iqra Bashir Makhdoomi, a resident of north Kashmir’s Sopore township was not aware that she had topped the exam till her mother told her over phone that she has scored 498 marks. “I thought I have appeared 3rd,” says Iqra.
Last year, five 1st position holders scored 500 out of 500 marks in Class 10 exams which created a sort of controversy. Iqra had a similar notion in her mind. “That is why I thought I would be third. The moment I heard it, I felt on the top of the world,” she says.
Topping exams is not something new to Iqra. She has stood first in almost all the school exams. She has been the recipient of scholarship from Sakhawat Centre consistently for three years and also participated in state level competitions twice and once at national level. “The only thing I have done is I continued the trend of topping,” she said proudly.
Iqra is different from other students of her age and never gives up to any challenge. Last winter, on a foggy afternoon, she called up a local tuition centre. “Unfortunately the classes were already booked. They told me that my admission was impossible because I had applied late.”
Instead of losing heart, she gathered courage and set her goal of topping the exam. “I then decided not only have to give my best but to do best, come what may,” she recalls. She is the first student of Model Public High School of Model Town, Sopore who outshined in the Class 10 exams.
Iqra now wants to either qualify MBBS or IIT exams. She has opted for medical and maths as her subjects. Her final goal is to become a civil service officer for which she has already started preparations. “I was in Class 9 when I started taking classes from recently qualified civil servant officers,” she says.
Hailing from Tujar area of Sopore, Iqra has seen similar hardships that the people living in rural areas face. “There is a lack of exposure. Otherwise every student is capable of doing extraordinary things. If something could be done for them, the students will definitely bring laurels. Government needs to do something for them,” Iqra says. She credits her success to her determination and hard-work, “Students do not need to be bookworms. Just consistent efforts can do things for them,” she suggests.
Samma Malik, who shared the 1st position with Iqra, is equally jubilant. For her, this feat is the first step on the long ladder of success. “I can’t explain my happiness.” Samma, who is daughter of Ishtiyaq Ahmad, an engineer, wants to follow the footsteps of her father. “I now want to become an engineer. I have opted for non-medical subjects,” she says.
Samma is not the first girl in her family who has secured top position in Class 10 exams. While her father secured 3rd position in his Class 10, her sister secured 7th position last year in same exams. “I never remains bound to books round the clock and allot equal time to all subjects. That is the reason behind my success,” says Samma.
Belonging to a tech-savvy generation, she abhors social networking site, Facebook and instead prefers to spend her time in reading novels or helping her mother in daily chores. “I love to take part in co-curricular activities. I have been the captain of kho-kho team and still continue to be its member. I do not shudder if I face any problem. I first try to understand the problem, and then start visualising how it could be solved. I never take chances. Without my family’s support, this feat would have never been possible,” she told Kashmir Life.
This year, nearly 49027 students appeared in Class 10 Board Exams out of which 29587 were declared successful while 15483 failed. It was for the first time in the history of J&K that top 20 positions were bagged by 255 students while first position was shared by two students, Iqra Bashir Makhdoomi and Samma Malik of Channapora.
Bushra Manzoor of Mallinson came second with 493 marks while third position was shared by four students, Fiza Farooq of Prime High School, Faiqa Khan and Khusnuma Mushtaq of Mallinson School and Zilmiraj Iqbal of Girls Higher Secondary. Fourth position is also shared by four students.
