PATNA: Every morning, Raushani Kumari pedalled 15km on bicycle through dusty roads from her village to school in Vaishali to fulfil her dream of becoming a top MNC executive. Daughter of an autorickshaw driver, she turned every obstacle into fuel, not just to survive, but to shine. Today, she stands tall as Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Class XII commerce topper.
Aarti Kumari, a Class IX student of Basuham village in Darbhanga, embodied a similar spirit of tenacity. “Sometimes, I would miss classes because it was too tiring. The cycle changed everything. I reached on time, attended every class & even helped my younger sister with her studies.”
Like Raushani and Aarti, there are hundreds of other girls who come from quiet lanes and crowded classrooms, from families where dreams once took a backseat to daily survival. But powered by ambition and fuelled by a wave of progressive govt schemes, including one where girls from humble backgrounds were given bicycles for mobility, Bihar’s girls and women are rewriting the rules.
In a display of talent and tenacity, girls from small towns and extremely poor families have swept the top ranks in this year’s Intermediate and matric exams across all streams.
The Class X results speak volumes. Out of 123 students who clinched top-10 positions this year, 60 were girls. In 20 out of Bihar’s 38 districts, girls were declared district toppers. In several districts, they swept all three top positions. Of the 15.58 lakh students who appeared for the exam, 8.05 lakh were girls – outnumbering boys – and 80.67% of them passed. Among them, 2.17 lakh scored first division while over 2.5 lakh secured second division and 1.7 lakh passed with third division.
Intermediate results echoed the same story. Girls outperformed boys. In arts stream, nine out of 13 top-five rank holders were girls. In commerce, six of top seven belonged to them. And in science, girls bagged three of eight top-five spots. In total, 18 out of 28 top-five rank holders across all three streams were girls.
