Manish Kumar Jha with his parents in Ranchi on Monday. (Hardeep Singh)

His father is a tiller in Bihar who earns a measly Rs 20,000 a year. But Manish Kumar Jha (18) has ploughed a very different destiny, bagging 94.6 per cent in the science stream of CBSE Plus Two exam, the results of which were declared on Monday.

Incidentally, it is the highest in his cradle, the DAV Public School, Gandhinagar in Ranchi. But what makes him a winner is that the farmer’s son from Katihar, Bihar, came to Jharkhand for a good education and paid for his living expenses for two years by tutoring students and earning Rs 2,000 a month.

As he said: “I just used to devote two hours of regular study. The rest of the time was spent in teaching students.”

Manish bagged 97 in math, 93 in English, 84 in chemistry, 93 in physics and 93 in physical education. It is an enviable list, but the boy is unfazed.

“I missed the IIT bus this year,” he said regretfully. “Engineering is my passion. I am sure I will clear the AIEEE — the All India Engineering Entrance Examination — whose results will be out in June.”

But teachers at his alma mater are cheering for him, for more reasons than one.

When in 2010, Manish visited Ranchi — his maternal uncle stays here — he came armed with a CGPA (cumulative grade point average) of a perfect 10 in his Class X, that he had completed from the CBSE cradle Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Bhagalpur, Bihar. In Ranchi, he did the rounds of Delhi Public School (DPS) and Jawahar Vidya Mandir (JVM), Shyamali, but learnt he would have to pay around Rs 24,000 as admission fee in either.

That sum of money was beyond his imagination. It was Rs 4,000 more than his father’s annual income.

Then, like a miracle, DAV happened. The authorities saw his CGPA score and waived off his fee for two whole years.

Now, the school stands vindicated for having backed him.

DAV school vice principal B.K. Singh said that boy was undoubtedly bright. “Just see how well he has done,” he said.

They had faith in him as they saw the spark in him from Day One, said the mentor. “After seeing his performance in Class X, we decided to collect money and admit him to our school. I have promised all required help to Manish if he gets through any engineering college,” Singh added.

Now that congratulations are pouring in at the Chitragupt Nagar Colony residence in Bariatu where the family stays, Manish is happy that his parents, brother and sister and teachers are pleased with his marks.

“I must thank my father Bhagesh Kumar Jha and my teachers, especially B.K. Singh and P.K. Ghosh, who have always helped me. Costly tuition for separate subjects was beyond my means,” the achiever said.

But dreams are within reach, right?

Are bright youngsters from needy homes more self-driven?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com