13-05-2025
SSC results: Some students overcome more than just exam jitters to emerge successful
On Tuesday, Kanta Mhaske (70) was out collecting waste when someone told her that the Class Xth results were out. With trepidation in her heart, Mhaske wnr to check the results of Sneha, her only granddaughter. 'It was unbelievable, my granddaughter had passed with more than flying colours- scoring 81 per cent. She managed to score 87 per cent in English and 90 per cent in Marathi,' beamed Mhaske. But Sneha, the girl of the moment, was not beside her- she was in her village.
'We have been trying since morning to get in touch with her-but phone connections are not good. Once she returns we will distribute sweets' said the proud grandmother. Sneha had lost both her parents when she was just 8 years old, her grandmother managed to eke out a living, working as a waste worker. 'I am sure she will shine in the future,' said the grandmother who is a member of the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPK)- the trade union of waste workers in Pune.
Children of waste workers like Mhashke fought not just academic pressures when they appeared for their board examinations. Physical work and poverty at home forces most students like Sneha to work along with their parents in collecting waste and wrestling for time in between to study. Bismilla Daval Mulla, daughter of Daval Mulla, had scored 82 per cent. Daval, who collects waste in the Sinhagad Road area of Pune is a member of the Swach Cooperative and is very proud. 'She dreams of becoming a teacher and wants to teach underprivileged children for free,' he said.
Among the many successes Komal Gaikwad (26) and Priyanka Kamble (28) stood out for deciding to go back to studies even while working, and successfully passing in their exams. Gaikwad had lost her husband during the COVID pandemic but said she wanted to clear the board examinations to set an example for her children. For Kamble, the teachers at the Ramabai Ranade School were extra helpful as they allowed her to study even if she was late to her classes due to work. Kamble credits her husband as her inspiration for her studies.
