DUBAI: There were tears of joy and sadness across thousands of homes in the UAE as India’s biggest school board CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) declared its Grade 12 results rather unexpectedly on Thursday.
Around 1.3 million students appeared for the Class 12 annual examination that took place in March-April. Of them, nearly 6,600 were from the UAE.
The students were anticipating the results in the second week of May. Sure enough, many were taken by surprise when the results were announced around midday, UAE time.
In India, two girls — Haniska Shukla and Karishma Arora — topped the exam with 499 marks each out of 500. It was not immediately clear who fared the best in the UAE.
Among those with stellar grades in the science stream are Sangana Rejikallingal of Gems Our Own English High School-Dubai and Veera Ramprajwal of Indian High School (IHS). Both scored 98 per cent.
Siddharth Meenachi Sundaram (97 per cent) of Delhi Private School, Sharjah, Aman Ganapathy Manvattira (97 per cent) of Delhi Private School, Dubai, Isha Kumtekar (96.2 per cent) of The Millennium School Dubai, Hannah Grace Jaison (95.8 per cent) of Indian School Al Ain, Maryam Deghani (95.2 per cent) of Ras Al Khaimah’s Scholars Indian School and Shachi Intodia (95.4 per cent) of JSS Private School, Dubai, were the other high achievers in the science stream.
In the commerce stream, the top honours were shared by Jayashree Gopalakrishnan Iyer (97.6 per cent) of IHS, Sowmya Mittal (97.4 per cent) of DPS, Sharjah, Rhea Bector (97.4 per cent) and Arun Anand (95.8 per cent) of The Millennium School Dubai, Chehak Rajgarhia (94.8 per cent) of DPS Dubai and Candice Jovito Fernandes (94.2 per cent) of Indian School Al Ain.
Early indicators show that Rupashree Ravi (96.6 per cent) of IHS. Aastha Jani (95.8 per cent) of DPS Dubai and Rhea Bhatnagar (94.8 per cent) of DPS Sharjah were among the highest scorers in the humanities stream.
499
is what joint toppers in India — Hansika Shukla and Karishma Arora — scored out of 500All students in most schools scored first divisions. The best performing school was IHS where all 572 boys and girls who appeared for the exams scored first divisions. As many as 1,966 students appeared for the exam in schools run by the Gems Group. Of them 26.3 scored above 90 per cent while 20.5 per cent got between 85 and 90 per cent. At DPS Sharjah, 42 per cent of students secured above 90 per cent marks and 90 per cent students achieved distinction.
HIGH ACHIEVERS
Indian High School topper (science stream) Veera Ramprajwal, said he’s delighted with his performance. “It has still not sunk in. It’s an emotional moment for me and my family,” said Ramprajwal who intends pursuing chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin — Madison
Sangana Rejikallingal, who wants to take up a career in computer science, said she’s thrilled beyond words. “I am speechless and am still trying to accept the fact that I have topped my school,” Another student of Gems Our Own English High School-Dubai, Sanchita Nagarajan, who has scored 97 per cent in humanities, thanked her parents, teachers and friends for their unflinching support. “There is no mantra for success. All what students need to do is to remain attentive in class,” she said.
Rhea Bector of The Millennium School — Dubai said it was a wonderful feeling to see her hard work pay off. Commerce stream topper (97.6 per cent) at IHS, Jayashree Gopalakrishnan said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw her grades “I was hoping to do well, but ended up surpassing my expectations,” she said.
Aditi Satish, a science stream student at IHS said she was happy with her performance (92 per cent) but reckons she could have done better had she prepared harder for chemistry.
For as many who were overjoyed, there were some who were disappointed. A science stream student who scored 70 per cent said he fears he might miss out on his choice of university.
1.3
million students appeared for the CBSE Class 12 exams, held in March-April this yearSimilarly a commerce stream student described the result as a setback. “I am hugely disappointed. I didn’t expect to do so badly I don’t know what went wrong,” he said.
Principal of Scholars Indian School in Ras Al Khaimah, Professor M. Abubaker, who provides psychological counselling to CBSE students said students should not define themselves by their academic performance.
“Their future is not based on these marks. What matters is their aptitude. They can go for psychometric test and go for a course of their choice. They should feel free to discuss the matters of concern and they can also apply for revaluation if they wish to. Also, there are a number of universities which admit students based on their entrance exams,” he said.
— with inputs from Ashlin Bangera
(Note: This article is based on inputs provided by schools and Gulf News cannot independently verify the results. The students mentioned here are not the only high achievers in the UAE)
ACHIEVERS’ MANTRA OF SUCCESS
Sangana Rejikallingal: 98%, Gems Our Own English High School-Dubai
Don’t mug it. Instead, gain a thorough knowledge and understanding of the concepts of various subjects
Veera Ramprajwal: 98% Indian High School
Get the concepts clear, but don’t strain yourself. Take out time for a hobby if you have one. It could go a long way in relaxing your mind and increasing your concentration
Rhea Bector: 97.4%, The Millennium School Dubai
“Push yourself to the limit, but don’t compromise on your health.”
Arun Anand: 95.8% The Millennium School — Dubai, Commerce Stream,:
“Solving sample papers, do constant revisions and have a focused mind”
Rupashree Ravi: 96.6%: Indian High School, Humanities,
“Don’t lose focus and limit your distractions to a bare minimum”
Aditi Satish: 92%, IHS Science stream.
“Very excited to have cleared my exams. Lost some marks in Chemistry. Though I will miss my school life, I am looking forward to pursuing Mechatronics in Germany.”
SCHOOLSPEAK
Dr Ashok Kumar, CEO of Indian High School:
“I am delighted by the unprecedented results across all three streams. All credit goes to teachers, students and their parents”
Vandana Marwaha, principal and director, DPS, Sharjah.
“The results reflect the sincerity, hard work and unconditional commitment of students, parents and teachers alike.”
Michael Guzder, Vice President — Education at GEMS Education
“Our pupils and faculty have worked extremely hard and smart — finishing portions well in time, having intense revision classes, and as usual solving past papers; all these have contributed to the brilliant results this year.”
In numbers
499 marks
is what joint toppers in India Haniska Shukla and Karishma Arora scored out of 500
1.3
million students appeared for the CBSE board exam which took place in March-April 2019
6,600
approximate numbers of students who appeared for the CBSE exam in the UAE
