A. Vidyalakshmi, Vidyanikethan Science PU College, Hubballi, topped the Science stream scoring 598 marks out of 600. She is the daughter of Railway Section Officer S. Akileswaran and R. Krithiga, a homemaker.
“I had set a time table for myself, which I followed rigorously. I always had the support and cooperation of my teachers and my parents. We were provided various modules to prepare for the examinations. After my classes, I used to dedicate four to five hours daily for my studies. On an average, academics took up around 18 hours daily. My efforts. and the wishes of my teachers and parents, have resulted in this fantastic result. Although I expected good marks, I didn’t expect to top the State.”
‘Would help mother with household chores before leaving for college’
Kavitha B.V., student of Indu Independent PU College, Kottur, Vijayanagara district, is one of three students who shared the first rank in Arts stream with a score of 596 out of 600 marks
“My PU score is the result of my hard work. I am one of the two daughters of a poor farmer who cultivates two acres of bagair hokum land. My mother toils as a tailor to supplement the family income. Because of the poor bus connectivity to my village, I would get up early in the morning and help my mother with household chores before taking a government bus at 7.30 a.m. to my college, which is around 20 km away from my village. I took the evening bus to return home by 7 p.m. as there was no other bus to my village.
“After finishing household work, I would brush up my lessons till late in the night. I am happy to be one among three meritorious students who got the first rank. I would like to join Karnataka College in Dharwad for my degree before preparing for the KAS examination,” she told The Hindu.
Regular schedule and completing assignments
Maintaining a regular schedule and completing the day’s assignments besides mastering the fundamentals was the key to the success of K.H. Urvish Prashant of Mysuru.
Urvish pursued a PCMB combination at Adi Chunchanagiri PU College in Kuvempunagar. He is the son of K.V. Harish Prashanth, a senior scientist at CFTRI-Mysuru and Savitha Prashanth, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, JSS College.
Urvish notched up a score of 597 out of 600. He secured a centum in chemistry, mathematics and biology, and scored 99 each in physics, English and Kannada.
‘’I intend to study BE and am trying for a seat in IIT,” said Urvish. He will appear for NEET, but has decided against pursuing a medical course. ‘’Going forward, I intend to take up space engineering,” he added.
He credited his parents for their encouragement without putting him under any sort of pressure. He also paid tributes to his teachers at Adi Chunchanagiri College saying the modules provided by them helped him a lot.
Academics apart, Urvish used to play basketball and chess though these games took a back seat once he entered II PUC, as he concentrated on academics.
A doctor in the making with a penchant for music
Janhavi Tumkur Gururaj of RVPB PU College in Mysuru secured 597 marks out of 600 in the Science stream with PCMB combination.
She secured 99 in English and 98 in physics besides scoring 100 each in Sanskrit, chemistry, mathematics and biology. Sharing her tips for success, Janhavi said that daily revision of the lessons covered in class and working on problem-solving was the key to mastering the basic concepts and scoring well.
At times, the schedule tended to be hectic as the approach to study for the II PUC board exams is different from the methodology required to prepare for competitive examinations, and she had to balance the two.
Her father T.R. Gururaj, a civil engineer by qualification who worked with the Reserve Bank of India, helped her in mathematics and physics. Her mother Madhu is a homemaker.
Janhavi intends to study medicine and take up MBBS. Her sights are set on cracking the NEET. Apart from academics, Janhavi is into music. She learnt to play the piano and the guitar.
‘’I have cleared grade 4 exams in piano conducted by Trinity College of London, but the music lessons were affected during the covid pandemic and the necessity to prioritise academics. Now that I have completed the II PUC examinations, I hope to pursue my interest in music as well,” she added.
A strong support system
Pavan M.S. of Kumadvathi PU College at Shikaripur in Shivamogga district secured the second highest score in II PU commerce stream. He secured 596 out of 600. He scored 100 each in Kannada, Economics, Accountancy, and Statistics, and 98 each in English and Business Studies.
Pavan is the son of S. Manjunatha, an employee of Kumadvathi College of Education, and Anitha M.S. He attributed his impressive score in the annual examination to the support of the teaching staff in the college and his parents. He wants to become a chartered accountant.
Shivamogga Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra, who is secretary of the college board of management, and the college staff have congratulated Pavan for his achievement.
Preparatory exams to the rescue
Chukki K.C., a student of DVS Independent PU College in Shivamogga has secured the fourth highest score in the II PU Arts stream. She secured 593 out of 600 in the annual examination.
Chukki, the daughter of Poornima H.M., an advocate, and Chandrashekhar M.B., a senior journalist in Shivamogga, chose to study Arts after scoring 621 out of 625 in SSLC. “I always wanted to pursue my studies in Arts. I want to become an IAS officer,” she said.
The student said she was expecting to emerge as one of the toppers, as the preparatory exams conducted by the college did boost her confidence. “I appeared for three preparatory examinations, besides solving many other question papers,” she said.
Chukki wants to take up studies in law. She has taken the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), an entrance test for the undergraduate law programme. Later, she would like to prepare for civil service exams.
