A review of his English answer script has catapulted Suchintan Das, a student of Salt Lake School, to the all India third rank in this year’s ISC examination.
“I had got 93 in English in the selection test. Since marking is more stringent in school, scores always increase in the Boards. So I was really disappointed on getting 92 in English. My teachers too felt I should go for a review.” So despite a risk being there of marks dipping, Suchintan put in his review application within two hours of the declaration of results on May 14.
On June 7, an email came from the Board informing him that his revised score in English was raised to 96. This means his aggregate score is now 99 per cent, up from 98 per cent. This puts him on a par with the third highest score nationally.
Suchintan knows that he missed out on the media spotlight that follows the publication of Board results but is happy that justice has been done. “The new score will help me secure a better rank in my admission test at St Stephen’s College,” he says.
The boy has made the cut of 96.5 per cent at the Delhi college for admission in his favourite subject — history. “Since 85 per cent weightage is on the Board result, the increased score should help me when I appear for the admission test on June 26,” he says. He is ranked second on the Presidency College admission list but hopes he does not have to study there.
Suchintan has no favourite historical figure but his favourite historians are Eric Hobsbawm and Irfan Habib.
While teaching and research are an option for the future, he will also chase another dream if the opportunity presents itself — the international civil service.
“I want to serve the United Nations,” says the boy who was the secretary general at the Model United Nation held at his school last year and loves debating. “After post-graduation, one can apply for a job as officer-in-charge, under-secretary in any department. They recruit directly from target countries as also accept applications at their New York headquarters.”
Suchintan’s favourite departments are refugee rehabilitation and peace-keeping. “I did a project in Class XII on displaced persons. It was titled: ‘The Sheltered and the Detained: Refugees and prisoners of war in India during World War II’. That sparked my interest in their struggles as did the current situations with the Rohingyas and in Central Asia.”
Suchintan was felicitated in school on June 13 during Assembly by principal Sugata D’Souza. “He is not just academically bright, he is an all-rounder,” the principal said.
He has a train to catch on Friday for his admission test in Delhi. Till then, he is busy cheering Brazil in the Fifa World Cup.
