Not allowed to write SSLC because she couldn't pay fees, this Karnataka girl tops supplementary exam

It was a moment of absolute joy for Greeshma and her family when she was declared the topper of the supplementary exam for SSLC with a score of 599 out of 625. The results were announced on Monday.

Greeshma had missed the main SSLC examination held in July, as she had not registered for it. She had failed to pay the fees and was thereby not enrolled in Class 12 at a private school.

The then minister of Primary and Secondary Education Suresh Kumar had assured Greeshma that she would get a chance to write the SSLC supplementary examination.

Greeshma's father Narasimha Murthy, who is an agriculturalist, expressed relief at the former minister's intervention in declaring that the exam will be treated as Greeshma's first attempt. He said she had travelled 400 kilometres with her mother to write the examination.

She did feel a lot of pressure at the examination increased when there were police personnel waiting at the centre for a written statement from her. "It did make me a little tense," Greeshma told The New Indian Express. She went home crying because she had not performed as expected and the police visit at the centre unnerved her.

Greeshma, known to be an exemplary student, secured 95% in Class 7 and 96% in the Class 9 examinations and was looking to pursue Science. "The entire episode made her not want to continue studies," Murthy said. But she has now decided to continue her education on the insistence of her parents.