Resilient Students Overcome Severe Financial Hardship to Achieve Perfect GPA in SSC Exams

Several students from impoverished backgrounds have achieved a GPA-5 in the recent Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations, demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of extreme financial hardship. Their stories, characterized by labor, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to education, serve as a testament to their academic tenacity.

Fariha Afroze, a student at Ikorchali High School in Rangpur’s Taraganj Upazila, balanced her studies with manual labor, crafting caps from hair to cover her educational expenses. Living in a small tin-roofed house with her family, Fariha hopes to become a physician. However, her father, a van driver, struggles to provide for the family’s basic needs, leaving her future in higher education uncertain.

In Keraniganj, Smriti Debnath, a student at Jinjira Pir Mohammad Pilot Girls’ High School, secured a GPA-5 despite being unable to afford private tutors or even guidebooks. Relying solely on classroom lessons and borrowed copies of books, she navigated her humanities curriculum while managing her mother’s recurring illness. Her school principal, Tahmina Akter, has appealed for public support to ensure Smriti can continue her studies.

Anik Islam, a science student from Nilphamari, completed his entire school life wearing the same uniform, which his mother, Shefali Begum, painstakingly enlarged as he grew. To fund his education, his father, a day laborer, and his mother, who raised livestock, exhausted their meager resources. With Anik’s elder brother also struggling to support himself through tuition, the family now faces the challenge of funding Anik’s college education.

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Similarly, Salma Khatun of Sirajganj’s Rayganj Upazila achieved a GPA-5 while assisting her mother with textile work to supplement her father’s erratic income as a cloth trader. In Noakhali, Tasfia Akter overcame the trauma of losing both parents at a young age, finding stability under the guardianship of her uncle, Mohammad Ilias, a sharecropper. Despite his limited income, Ilias ensured Tasfia’s schooling, and she now aims to become a teacher to help underprivileged children.

Finally, Puja Biswas of Narail, the daughter of a day laborer, earned a GPA-5 despite living in a dilapidated home. Supported by her teachers and parents, Puja aspires to become a doctor. Like her peers, her academic journey remains precarious due to the high costs of higher education, prompting educators to highlight the urgent need for financial assistance for these high-achieving students.