Braving odds to top in state - Daughter and son of labourers emerge with flying colours in madarsa exams

Sumana Khatun

TT, Balurghat, May 13: Sumana Khatun, the daughter of a daily wage labourer from a remote village in South Dinajpur, has topped the high madarsa examination in the state by scoring 93.5 per cent.

The Class X exam is conducted by the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education.

Sumana scored 90 in Bengali, 80 in English, 100 in math, 99 in physical science, 97 in life science, 88 in history, 96 in geography and 98 in Islam Parichay - 748 out of 800.

"I had never though that I would be the state topper. I have been struggling with poverty since birth. Perhaps, this struggle helped me achieve the recognition. My parents, despite having financial problems, were always supportive. I have also got immense support from my schoolteachers, who have always inspired me," the student of Basanti Sadaitullah High Madrasha in Kumarganj said.

Sumana is the youngest daughter of Abu Siddik Miya and Bilkis Biwi. While Bilkis is a homemeker, Abu stays in Goa where he works as a daily wage worker. The couple's two other elder daughters are married.

"I had only one tutor as I could not afford more teachers. I was regular in school," Sumana said sitting in her hut at Deun village, 33km from here. "I have started preparing for the higher secondary-level exams. My aim is to study in the science stream at Al-Ameen Mission in Howrah. I want to be a math teacher," Sumana said.

Bilkis said the main hurdle in way of Sumana's education was poverty. "We are overjoyed that she has topped in the state. But we are also worried because we don't know how we can help her continue her studies. Whatever money her father sends from Goa (Rs 3,000 a month) is spent to run the family. We are not in a position to fund higher education. But my daughter is determined. We are keeping our fingers crossed and we would appreciate any help from the state or any benevolent person," Bilkis said.

Chhanda Sarkar, the headmistress of Sumana's madarsa, said they had anticipated that the girl would make it to the top. "It is overwhelming to see that she secured the top position despite the weak economic status of her family. We had helped her with reference books and other things and we will stand by her so that she can continue her education," Sarkar said.