Don't cram, study little every day, says topper

Sharjah An exam struggler has topped the UAE charts in a make-or-break Indian test after taking his older brother’s tip to not cram for exams.

Sharjah boy Anant Subramanian, 17, scored 98.2 per cent in the Class 12 board exams known as the CBSE, taking his family by surprise. Subramanian, who does not remember ever coming first in school finals, had always struggled with exams because he would put off studying till the last moment.

“But in Class 11 and 12 I did what my elder brother told me: ‘Don’t cram, study throughout your school year — even if it’s only a little bit everyday.’

It worked. No one was expecting I’d do this well,” said Subramanian, a student of Delhi Private School Sharjah (DPS).

“I studied even when I didn’t feel like it, and when the big exams finally came (in March) I was ready. There are no short-cuts or tricks when it comes to studies.”

The shy teen would take a number of breaks, watching TV or spending time on the computer, during his daily studies to keep himself from getting bored with books. For his CBSE exams, he did not take any outside coaching or special tuition as is typical for many pupils preparing for the landmark test, whose results colleges weigh heavily when considering admissions.

“My school teachers were so helpful, my parents were very supportive — I didn’t need any extra help. My advice is that you’ve got to study in class and follow it up at home, even if you hate it. Otherwise you’ll really struggle before the big day,” said Subramanian.

He plans to follow in the footsteps of his only sibling – his elder brother Ashwin, 20 – to study engineering at BITS Pilani University in India’s Rajasthan state. Ashwin was also a DPS student. Their father, B. Subramanian, is a senior bank manager while their mom, Gomathi, is a professor at Gulf Medical University in Ajman.

The UAE residence of the family, who hail from India’s Tamil Nadu state, is a two-bedroom flat in Sharjah.

However, not everything has turned out well for him. “My brother’s got that ‘See, I told you so’ smirk now and my friends want a huge treat from me,” he joked.