MD Aslam

The son of an ailing father, Aslam took tuition and worked as a day-wage labourer on holidays to raise money for his studies. The boy also helped his younger sister financially and she also passed higher secondary this year.

Aslam, the student of Islampur High School, scored 89 per cent in the higher secondary exam. He is the resident of Laskargaon in Goalpokhor block of Islampur subdivision in North Dinajpur. The boy's father, Md Mustafa, suffers from renal problems and his mother is a homemaker. The couple have nine children — five daughters and four sons — and four of them are married.

Aslam’s elder brother quit his studies after his HS exams two years back and cultivated a four-bigha plot to run the family. “When I took admission in Islampur High School, I understood that it was not possible for my brother to bear my expenses. So, I started taking tuition in lower classes,” Aslam said.

In 2011, Aslam had passed Madhyamik with 85 per cent marks and wanted to take science for Plus Two. But paucity of money came in the way of fulfilling his wish and the boy pursued arts from Islampur High School, 25km from his village. “I used to commute daily, attend school, give tuition and then return home. That is how I continued my studies,” he said.

“I also paid my sister’s educational expenses. She has passed HS from Panjipara High School this year.”

Besides taking tuition, Aslam also toiled hard to continue his education.

“On holidays, I worked as a day-wage labour to earn money. So far, I have received an assistance of Rs 11,000 from the government. I have kept the money for admission to a graduation course. My aim is to study BA English and join the state civil services in the future,” said the boy.

Umesh Jha, the headmaster of Islampur High School, said all the teachers were proud of Aslam. “We feel proud of him and will provide him with all possible help to continue his higher studies,” said Jha.

Rinki Sarkar

It was hard for Rinki’s parents to fund her education with a meagre monthly income of around Rs 4,000. The father works as an agricultural labourer, while her mother rolls bidis in Cooch Behar.

But the student of Ghughumali High School beat all odds to secure 77.6 per cent in HS. The school topper has a sister who studies in Class XI and the parents have to take care of her education also.

Like many students with financial constraints, Rinki wanted to fund her own studies by giving tuition. But she was disallowed from doing so by her parents.

“The financial condition of my family is very bad and the monthly income of

Rs 4,000 is spent on household expenses. Yet my parents were able to keep aside some money to meet the educational expenses of me and my sister. I wanted to mitigate the financial problems by taking tuition for students junior to me. But my parents did not agree to the idea. They asked me to concentrate on my studies and I have not let them down,” said Rinki, who stays in her maternal uncle’s house in Manabari, on the outskirts of Siliguri.

“I am very grateful to my teachers, headmaster and my uncle without whose help I would not have come this far,” she added.

Rinki had topped school in Madhyamik, too. She never had a private tutor and was assisted in her studies by her schoolteachers.

Kantu Deb, Rinki's uncle, said: “She was a bright child and we got her enrolled in a school near our house in Ghughumali. She has done all of us proud today.”

The girl wants to become an English teacher, though she fears she will face money problems. “I want to take up English honours in college and become a teacher in future. But given our financial condition, I doubt I will be able to continue my studies,” said Rinki

Gautam Mondal

The student of Ghugumali High School has been a mason’s helper since Class VIII to support his family. Still, he studied well and scored 66.4 per cent in higher secondary exams. Gautam also has a younger sister who studies in Class VIII.

“My father does not work and he roams around all day. My mother supports our family by working in other people’s houses in the neighbourhood. I knew it was hard for her to make two ends meet with a paltry earning of Rs 3,000 a month. So, I started working as a helper to masons when I was in Class VIII. I earn around Rs 2,500 a month and the amount is spent on household expenses, besides my education and my sister’s,” said Gautam, a resident of Fogdoibari, on the outskirts of Siliguri.

As he had to go to work after school, Gautam studied till late in the night and in the mornings.

He wants to take up English honours and become a teacher.

“I used to study from 10pm to past midnight and got up around 6am for studies. Even though I got very tired after the manual labour, the determination to do well in the exam kept me going. I want to take up English honours and will keep working to fund my college education,” he said.

Mithun Sarkar

Just like Rinki and Gautam, Mithun also swam against the tide to pass the higher secondary exam.

The student of Ghugumali High School worked as a helper to an electrician ever since his father fell ill two years ago. He scored 65.2 percent in HS exams.

His mother works as a domestic and earns around Rs 3,000 a month. Mithun has an elder brother who does odd jobs to supplement the family income and his younger brother and sister study in school.

“My father was a hawker but he has been ill for the past two years and has not been able to work. Much of the money earned by my mother and brother is spent to meet household expenses, my father's treatment and the education of my siblings. I learnt electrical work from a neighbour and have been working as his helper for the past two years. I earn around Rs 1,000 a month with which I fund my own studies,” said Mithun, a resident of East Majhabari on the outskirts of Siliguri.

Mithun wants to take up English honours and become a teacher.

“I want to become an English teacher some day and I will keep on working as an electrician till I achieve my goal,” said the boy.

Tapasha Biswas

Daughter of a domestic and a papad seller, Tapasha has been struggling since her childhood.

She was a student of Jalpaiguri Sunitibala Sadar Girls' High School and scored 68.8 per cent in the higher secondary exams.

“My parents somehow run the family. Both of them work round the clock to earn a living. My father is ill but even then, to ensure that we get two meals a day, he goes out to sell papad,” said Tapasha.

She lives with her parents and her brother Poltu, a Class VIII student, in a hutment in Senpara of Jalpaiguri town.

Her father Ajit and mother Ranu have thanked Sitesh Bhattacharya, a teacher of Jalpaiguri High School, for providing free tuition to Tapasha.

Sitting at home, Tapasha used to teach her brother and some other children from poor families free of cost.

“I could relate myself to their struggles and help them in studies,” said Tapasha.

Sumanta Pal

The student of Baul Parameswar High School learnt about his results while he was working in a field near his house. Sumanta was working as a day-wage worker even a day before his HS examination. However, the odds could not stop the boy from scoring 82 per cent marks.

Sumanta is a resident of Baul, 25km from Balurghat in South Dinanjpur. He had no private tutor and his father is a land labourer.

Manmatha, the father, said: “I could not provide much help to my son. But he has exceptional mental strength and used to study at least eight hours a day. Still, he worked as a day-wage worker in the village to help our family.”

Sumanta is concerned about his future. “While others were preparing for the exams, I was working in field like my father. But I never compromised with my study and used to go through my lessons at night. My aim is to become a teacher but I have no idea whether I can arrange for money for admission to a college and continue my studies,” he said.

He thanked his schoolteachers for standing by him.

“I am grateful to the teachers and particularly Buddhadeb Chaudhury, the headmaster of my school. They never rebuked me for being late or remaining absent from school. They knew that my financial condition was bad and I was working in someone else's farms,” said Sumanta.

Text by our bureau, pictures by Kundan Yolmo,
Mehedi Hedaytullah, Biplab Basak, Santanu Ghosh