Name: Bapi Fakir

School: Kalash High School, Magrahat, South 24-Parganas.

Score: 371/500

Bapi’s physical disabilities — which have accompanied him since his birth — prevented him from sitting on a bench to write exams. He did it lying on the floor. His aggregate may appear humble, but, for his acquaintances, he has won a bigger battle.In fact, Bapi was offered a writer, but he refused.“I can’t sit properly and so I wrote my papers lying on the floor. I thank my teachers who helped me so much. I don’t know what I can do in the future, but I want to study more. My dream is to be a teacher,” said Bapi.Bapi’s father Shahjahan is a tailor who earns Rs 4,000 a month and runs a seven-member family. He said he was extremely proud of his son for scoring 74.2 per cent in HS.“I don’t know whether he can do something in future but he can teach the poor boys and girls in our locality,” said Shahjahan.

Renaisa Das

Name: Renaisa Das

Score: 484/500

School: Siliguri Girls’ High School, Siliguri

Renaisa, a visually-impaired student has managed to secure excellent marks, much to the pride of her schoolteachers and parents.“I lost my vision when I was only three-year-old. My mother used to read out the questions and answers of different subjects, which I would listen to and prepare for the exams,” she said.Barnali, her mother, is a homemaker, while Biswajit, her father, serves in a private firm. “I would like to complete my graduation in English and aspire to join the state civil service,” said the girl.

Puni Aich

Name: Puni Aich

Score: 343/500

School: Kumudini Girls’ High School, Jalpaiguri

Puni is 95 per cent visually-impaired and had appeared in the exam with a writer. Daughter of a day wage worker, Puni, who resides at Rahut Bagan in Jalpaiguri town, wants to continue her studies.Representatives of Jalpaiguri Welfare Organisation, who had helped Puni in her studies, said they would extend assistance to her so that she could continue her education.“I could not read as it gives me a headache. It is my friends, my mother and other acquaintances who would read out for me and I used to memorise by listening to them. I want to study further but have no idea whether my parents will be able to bear the basic expenses of education,” she said.

Priyanka Adak

Name: Priyanka Adak

School: Bardhaman Bidyarthi Bhavan Girls’ High School, East Burdwan.

Score: 491/500

Priyanka, who secured eighth position in the merit list this year, is a farmer besides being a student. Apart from studying for hours, she had to be busy in the field to help her marginal farmer father in sowing seeds or harvesting crops.“We are poor and farming is the only option for our family to earn our livelihood. I work in the field to help my father who is the sole breadwinner of our family,” said Priyanka, a resident of Charmana village of East Burdwan.Priyanka’s father, Bimal, owns two bighas of land and is forced to work as a sharecropper in more three bighas to run his family.“I hardly earn Rs 5,000 a month and I am grateful to my daughter as she always tries her best to help me in farming. I have no language to express my happiness today. I want to see her on the peak of success,” said Bimal.

Sulekha Khatun

Name: Sulekha Khatun

School: Pathardanga Osmania High Madrasha, Murshidabad

Score: 441/500

Sulekha is a beedi worker at Sahebnagar village in Nabagram and that is how she has funded her own education for a long time. Her father Asraful Haque is a day labour who earns Rs 250 a day and the family resides in a mud house.A student of humanities, Sulekha had only one private tutor to guide her through English. Yet, she has secured more than 90 in subjects like history, geography and education.

Barsha Parveen

Name: Barsha Parveen

Score: 493/500

School: Shilbarihat High School, Alipurduar

A resident of Kalaberia forest village in Alipurduar 1 block, Barsha’s father Motiar Rehman is a migrant worker. Of late, he is back at home because of illness. Every day, Barsha had to pedal for 16km to go to her school and return home. Her family is worried as to how they can manage the expenditure for her further studies.

(Reporting by Subhasish Chaudhuri, Bireswar Banerjee, Snehamoy Chakraborty, Alamgir Hossain and Anirban Choudhury)