Perseverance Pays Off For Teen Who Battled Financial Lows And Scaled Academic Highs

Greeshma Nayak, a class 10 student from Karnataka's Tumakuru district, made headlines for scoring - 95.8% - the highest marks in supplementary exams in the state. However, what stands out is her story.

Nayak is the daughter of a farmer and a homemaker and could not attend online classes because her family could not pay her school fees. Her financial struggles began when she was in class 9 because her father could no longer afford education for her. He had asked for some time from the school to arrange for the money, but after the COVID pandemic, the situation only worsened. Therefore, the only weapon with the 16-year-old was time for self-study and her elder sister, who would clarify her doubts.

Always A Curious Child

The News Minute quoted Greeshma as saying that she has always been a curious child and always harboured a fascination for knowledge and learning new things. "When I hold books, I feel an inexplicable excitement about learning new things… like reading science and history or doing any mathematical calculations. When I see any mathematical equation, I am fascinated by how mathematicians derived all those formulas a long time ago," she says.

School Did Not Register Her For Exams

Greeshma is a student of the Alva High School, which is a part of the well-known Alva's Education Foundation. The school charges ₹1,00,000 as fee for Class 9, and Greeshma's father could only pay ₹35,000. Therefore, she was not re-admitted to the school for Class 10. The topper's father said that her name was not even registered for exams because he could not pay the fees, and no information in this regard was shared with the family. So, Greeshma vigorously wrote emails to several ministers for registration of the examination. Then, the education minister visited their house and informed them that the state was planning to hold supplementary exams for those who would not give them before. Nonetheless, Greeshma and her mother were to give in writing that they would have to pay the school fees before collecting her mark sheet and applying for a transfer certificate.

The Class 10 topper has chosen Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology and aspires to become a doctor one day. In fact, reowned cardiologist Dr Devi Shetty offered to sponsor her studies. He also sought a mechanism to raise funds for all such students in the future.

Also Read: Fostering Accountability! BBMP To Make Pet Licensing Mandatory For Dog Parents