Mumbai: Spending your days in a city hospital just weeks before a life-changing exam can be a terrifying thought for thousands of students who burn the midnight oil just to score marks that can shape their academic careers.
But Ritika Barat, who has emerged as one of the top scorers from the city with 99.2% in the ICSE Class 10 results this year, has turned out to be an example for millions of students trying to script history while dealing with medical constraints.
“I was diagnosed with Ovarian tumour before my exam on February 27. It was a challenging time for me as I have been preparing for board exams for the past two years. Regardless of my condition, I was determined and prepared to take the exam,” said Ritika, a student of Ryan International School, Goregaon, who underwent surgery on February 10, just two weeks away from the ICSE Class 10 board exams.
Despite going through immense pain, Ritika found inspiration in the people around her to emerge as the topper of her school.
“My mother helped me a lot during the exam as she was the one who taught me and took care of my subject revisions. My friends, school teachers, were also immensely supportive during this entire ordeal,” added Ritika, a Goregaon resident.
In a message to students, who might be going through medical complications while having to prepare for their exams, Ritika advised students to feel normal about their situation while also searching for a glimmer of hope.
“I would tell students that it’s normal to feel disheartened or demotivated while going through a medical treatment which is anyway physically and mentally challenging but at the same time my advice would be to strive for mental strength and never give up what may come,” asserted Ritika.
The 17-year-old student, who is now tumour-free, aims to pursue science and be an engineer in the near future.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), New Delhi, declared the ICSE Class 10, and ISC Class 12 results at cisce.org on May 14 with girl students outperforming their male counterparts.
While the passing percentage among girls stood at 99.21% as compared to 98.71 % among boys for Class 10 results, Class 12 ISC results saw girls outperforming boys with a passing rate of 98.1% compared to 95.6% among male students.
