Bhawanipatna, May 31: Defying all odds, four students of the Government Junior College of Bhawanipatna have passed the Plus Two commerce examinations with flying colours this year.

The four students — Asmita Agrawal, Piyush Jain, Ronika Agrawal and Megha Agrawal — were ranked fifth, eighth, 14th and 16th respectively in the Plus Two Commerce results that was published yesterday.

What’s special is that their results have made their college proud as there were no lecturers in the commerce department to teach them.

The Government Junior College is suffering from acute staff shortage, and there is not a single lecturer in the department dedicated to teach the Plus Two commerce students.

There is only one lecturer in the department of commerce who manages classes of both Plus Three and Plus Two streams. Obviously, when talking about their success, none of the students gave any credit to their college.

Ronika Agrawal of the college, who has secured the 14th position in Plus Two commerce, said since there was no dedicated lecturer to teach them, she didn’t depend upon college teaching.

“I knew that the college was suffering from acute shortage of staff. So, I didn’t depend much on college teaching. I did my studies in my home and also took private tuitions. I attribute my success to the blessings of my parents and my private tutors,” she said.

Ronika’s father Naresh Agrawal said she was always very serious in her studies. “It is her seriousness and hard work that have put her in the top position,” he said.

Asmita Agrawal, who secured the fifth position in Plus Two commerce, also talked little about her college and said her family members and private tutors should be credited for her success. “The college is plagued with shortage of teachers. I, therefore, concentrated to study at home,” she said.

Even the college authorities attributed the success of the students to their hard work. The administrative officer of the Government Junior College of Bhawanipatna, Dinger Suna, said it was the students who should be congratulated for their efforts.

“The credit for passing out with flying colours entirely goes to the students, who, despite all odds, have brought glory to the college. The college is crippled with vacant posts and does not have a dedicated lecturer to teach Plus Two commerce students. The students were not given enough classroom teaching in the college,” he said.