Sheer determination to succeed in life helped S. Swathi, a student of Government High School at Pitchampalayampudur in Tirupur city, fight against many odds and emerge State second in the Class X examinations this year.
Only Govt. school student
She was the only student from a Government school among the 35 students from the district who obtained either of the first three ranks in the State.
Only child of Siva Kumar, a tailor in a garment unit, and Shanti, a home maker, Swathi wants to become a doctor. She is not disappointed about missing the first rank by a whisker.
“The score of 498 marks itself came as a surprise for me though I was confident of good score,” she said.
Since Swathi’s family is dependent solely on the meagre wages of her father, she did the entire schooling in the same institution.
“I used to watch television and also play. But at the same time I made sure to allocate fixed hours for studies every day with additional effort put on the days close to the final examination,” she said.
Coaching
Mary John, headmistress of Swathi’s school, said that all the 104 students who wrote the examinations from the school were given extended coaching on school days and the weaker students were provided with meals, with expenses borne by the teachers.
