Many students have come out with flying colours, withstanding Odds to score well in Class XII CBSE Result 2016. Yet, for some, their distant dream is higher education.
Since the December floods had washed away their home, Ashwini along with her family had to move from one place to another, nevertheless, this brave heart didn’t lose hope. Amidst shifting from one crowded shelter to another and all the family belongs being destroyed, this Class 12 student managed to concentrate on her studies and secure the top rank at Chennai Higher Secondary School in Alwarpet.
Her teachers said that Ashwini, their brightest pupil could have scored more than the 85% she managed, if not for the loss of notes to the floods.Jayalakshmi, her class V maths teacher, says, “She scored more than 90% in all school exams leading up to the boards.But she was disturbed and affected by the constant displacement her family had to undergo.” When Ashwini topped her school in Class 10 with 90%, she told her teachers that she was wanting to study BE, computer science after Class 12. At present, her family has somehow sought refuge at Tsunami Colony in Thoraipakkam.
R Ashwini lives with her two sisters, father and mother Umadevi, the breadwinner and domestic help of the family earns `3,000 a month.Her father Padmanabhan, as the school teachers says, has not been very supportive. “He works as a driver but spends all his earnings on drinking. He subjects his wife and daughters to constant abuse.”Padmanabhan mumbles, “I do not earn much. I drive tourist buses and so I am away for long.” when asked about his contribution to the family.
On recalling the day when their home was washed away, Umadevi said, “We rushed out as soon as possible. We could not save any of our belongings.” Since then, the mother with her three daughters have taken refuge in corporation-designated shelters, including a room above the tah sildar office on Greenways Road, a railway station parking lot and a hostel. “We even took shelter for a week in a house where my grandmother worked as a maid.” added Ashwini.
She said she had to travel for hours on a regular basis to reach her school in Alwarpet after they moved to Tsunami Colony. But then that was in the past and now she wants to concentrate on her future. Ashwini says, “I want to become a software engineer. It was also my sister’s dream.” After securing 80%, her elder sister had to settle for a BSc in computer science due to economic constraints, while the younger sister will begin her Class 12 this year. “This house is also temporary. We will be moved again. Only education is permanent,”Umadevi said.
SOURCE: http://goo.gl/k7Zts0
