Our students have suffered badly through the pandemic, from the school closures and the difficulty of continuing to study at home with limited technology and teacher contact. The students preparing to take those all important Class 10 and 12 Board exams this year have found it an extremely stressful time. These pupils have not been in full time school for over a year and while our staff have done everything possible to teach and support their classes from a distance, the students have had to complete a demanding curriculum and prepare for tough exams largely on their own.

All the students have risen to the challenge and found ways not only to study in the face of huge obstacles, but also to help their fellow classmates and younger friends and relatives, so we were incredibly proud of our staff and students when the exam results came in recently. Every single one of our exam candidates fell into the 1^st division, (see full exam results below) with scores of 60% or higher, with the majority scoring over 75%. These would be excellent results, even in a normal year, but this year they are astounding and reflect the commitment and hard work of teachers and pupils alike. While a slightly smaller percentage of Class 10 pupils achieved over 75% this year, the range was greater, and, for the first time in Project Mala, a couple of pupils scored over 90%. Class 12 students excelled this year with only 2 results falling below the 75% mark against 21 in 2020.

Several of our class 10 boys have had to work to supplement the family income during the pandemic, as well as to study. Among all the stories of hard work and success, some pupils stand out. In particular, Shailendra works with his father and brother as a carpet weaver once online lessons are done and studies in the evening. In spite of this, he scored 84% in his exams and came first in the school Class 11 entrance exam. He has also taken time to teach his classmates physics, a subject in which he excels.

Seema and Samita, two girls from Turkahan, who were very weak students and at the bottom of their class when they came to board in Class 9, really benefited from being in an environment where they could take time to study. With the school closures, they had to return home to village lives where they were required to help in household tasks, but they didn’t allow their commitment to study falter and both girls scored 78%, achieving a position just above the middle of their class of 38 students – a very long way from where they started.

I am particularly pleased with the Patehra senior school results as they achieved absolute parity with Guria school, with the average result in both schools standing at 78%.