Government pre-university colleges may be at the bottom rung in terms of pass percentage in the recent results. But the Government PU College for Girls in Basavanagudi, with an overall pass percentage of 90.3 is testament to its students’ grit and determination.
Many of the young women who studied in this college work as domestic help during the day as most of them come from impoverished backgrounds. But their results in the examination belie the difficulties they face.
Of the 228 II PU students here, four passed with distinction, 95 with first class and 69 with second class.
Faculty content
Speaking about the students’ good performance, S. Shivalingam, Tamil teacher, said: “I am very happy that these girls have been able to perform so well, given their burdened situations and difficulties. They travel far to get this education and work with a lot of interest. Some of them work as domestic help early in the day before coming to college at 9.30 a.m.”
Principal M.R. Kamala added: “I am extremely proud of all my students for having done so well in these examinations. They have been working hard and sincerely throughout the year. Mostly, I credit my staff for instilling in my students a sense of confidence and they have inspired these girls to take education seriously and make careers that will help them greatly. This is a women’s institution and it has individuals from all walks of life. My girls have proven today that they can take on challenges and achieve their goals.”
Meet the topper
The college topper, R. Priyanka, a commerce student, scored 88 per cent. “My hard work and dedication has paid off,” she said, with nary a word on the hardships she has had to face. Living in her grandmother’s house here, away from her parents in T. Narasipur in Mysore, she is the daughter of a dairy plant worker and a homemaker.
“I was initially hesitant to join this college as I had studied in a Kannada-medium school. Learning English was difficult for me and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to cope,” she told The Hindu . Her lack of confidence was soon taken care of. “My grandmother was the most supportive, taking over all the household chores and allowing me to concentrate on my studies,” she said. She now wants to pursue a commerce degree. Her advice: “Study not out of compulsion, but with a desire to excel.” In the II PU results, bifurcated PU colleges performed the best with a pass percentage of 73.42, followed by unaided PU colleges (72.49), corporation PU colleges (69.23), aided PU colleges (67.66) and government PU colleges (65.8 per cent).
