Topper Raksha loves music, keen to join Delhi University

New Delhi: Raksha Gopal bagged 99.6 per cent, the highest score in the Class 12 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) this year.

Raksha, a talented keyboard player and humanities students at Amity International School, Noida, got a perfect score in English core, political science, and economics. In psychology and history, she scored 99 out of 100 each.

“I was expecting about 95 per cent, but 99.6 per cent was unimaginable,” she said. She told reporters that she was expecting nothing more than a “good” result. The 2017 topper was “surprised” to find that she was barely two marks short of a perfect 100 per cent.  

After her stellar show in the board exam, Raksha is keen on studying political science in Delhi University (DU). Lady Shri Ram, Miranda House, and Jesus and Mary are the top three DU colleges on her mind. She said that she will chart out her future plans once she enrols for higher studies.

Raksha said mock tests helped her perform better. She told reporters that she didn’t take any private tuitions. Her father, Gopal Srinivasan, said that she has been a consistent performer, topping the last seven exams in a row. “We never put any pressure on her. I always tell her to concentrate on her studies and not think about acing the exams,” said Mr Srinivasan, who works as the chief finance officer in the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.

Raksha’s mother, Ranjani Gopal, said she was invested in ensuring that her daughter ate and slept well. Her sister Prerna, who studies bio-chemistry at DU’s Institute of Home Economics, said she provided a “supportive environment” to her younger sibling. Raksha started her big day by visiting her school in Noida with her father.

Mr Srinivasan, who had a tough time lining up numerous press interviews for her daughter, said he was secretly hoping for a phenomenal performance from her. “She did consistently well in her school exams. So, I was hoping that she will do great. She has a beautiful gift of expression,” he said, adding, “We gave her the freedom to plan out her timetable for revision.”                                                                                                            

With 99.4 per cent marks, Chandigarh’s science student Bhoomi Sawant scored the second highest marks. Mannat Luthra and Aditya Jain stood third with 99.2 per cent in the commerce stream.

Last year, Delhi student Sukriti Gupta topped the Class 12 CBSE exams with 99.4 per cent. This year, the national capital improved on its last year’s performance. The pass percentage of Delhi students at 88.37 per cent is only next to Trivandrum (95.62 per cent) and Chennai (92.60 per cent). The all India pass percentage has gone down from 83.05 per cent to 82 per cent this year.

Meanwhile, girls outshone boys yet again in the CBSE Class XII examination results by a margin of over 9 per cent even, while the overall pass percentage dropped by over one per cent. The pass percentage for girls in the results was 87.50, while for boys it was 78 per cent.

However, the overall pass percentage dropped to 82 per cent from 83.05 per cent last year, according to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) officials. The second position was bagged by Chandigarh’s Bhumi Sawant who scored 99.4 per cent mark.

Mannat Luthra and Aditya Jain, also from Chandigarh, jointly bagged the third rank with 99.2 per cent in commerce section. Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar spoke to the toppers and congratulated them on their performance.

Trivandrum region recorded the highest pass percentage at 95.62 per cent followed by Chennai (92.60 per cent) and Delhi (88.37 per cent). This year, Delhi’s performance improved by nearly one per cent as the national capital recorded a pass percentage of 87.01 per cent.

Government-run Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas performed the best with a pass percentage of 95.73 per cent, while the Kendriya Vidyalayas recorded 94.60 per cent success. Private schools’ pass percentage was the lowest at 79.27 per cent.

CBSE schools in foreign countries also recorded a pass percentage of 92.02 per cent. This year, over 10,000 students scored 95 per cent or above, while 63,247 students scored more than 90 per cent.

The CBSE has also opened a helpline number for counselling of its students post results. “65 counsellors will talk to students and parents on the helpline number between 8 am to 10 pm,” a CBSE official said.