(From left) Jeetu, Sauban and Shashi. Pictures by Ranjeet Kumar Dey and The Telegraph

Jeetu Kumar wanted to prove himself with his hard work and he did that on Thursday — with his CBSE Class X results.

The 15-year-old son of peons, Jeetu, secured a CGPA (cumulative grade point average) of above 9 out of 10 to make his parents proud. The Dominic Savio’s High School student said: “It was not an easy job to attend to my studies at the meagre income of my parents. I have an elder sister and a younger brother too. But my hard work and determination have brought me here.”

Both his parents — Michael Mahesh and Usha Michael — work as peons at the school he studies in. Their combined income stands at around Rs 15,000. Jeetu said: “Since both my parents are peons, I always wanted to prove myself by working and studying harder. They used to tell me always that we should work hard.”

He got ample support from his school, including relaxation in school fees on several occasions.

He said: “The institution director, G.J. Galstaun, used to tell me that hard work always pays. He often provided me with books, including reference ones, to study. A teacher at school would even coach me in science for free. One should never lose confidence and always think of working harder and making everyone proud.”

Sauban Tanweer of Radiant International School also made it a point to make everyone proud.

Although he missed his Summative Assessment-I because of a fall during Id last year, he was determined to not lose a year. The CBSE Class X results declared on Thursday are a reflection of his strength of mind.

Appearing for the Summative Assessment-II and the four formative assessments in a year, Sauban secured an average result.

He said: “On Id-ul Fitr last August, I was decorating my house when suddenly I blacked out and fell down. After some time, when I regained consciousness, I was in the intensive care unit of a nursing home nearby. I had a clot in my brain and was referred to Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health, Neuro & Allied Sciences, New Delhi. The treatment took around a-month-and-a-half and I couldn’t appear for my Summative Assessment-I in September.”

Determined not to lose a year, he cleared the exams with the help of his hard work and family’s support.

“I thought I should not drop a year. My hard work and my family’s support made me take the exam,”said Sauban. The 16-year-old’s struggle continues even though his exams are over. At present, too, he is in New Delhi for routine check-ups.

Shashi Kant, a student of T Raza High School, overcame his stammer to secure an excellent result. The teen said his speech was normal till he was seven years old when a twig he was brushing his teeth with got lodged in his throat, damaging it.

A Hrithik Roshan fan, Shashi said his impaired speech used to be a problem during internal assessments but he ensured his confidence more than made up for it. Even though several modes of treatment have not yielded any results, Shashi said: “I feel it is only my confidence which will help me in my studies and make my stammer insignificant.”