West Bengal Madhyamik toppers: Six students from Bankura school in top 10

BANKURA: Few schools in the state have ever boasted of nurturing more Madhyamik toppers in a batch than Bankura Zilla School.
As many as six of its students have bagged spots among the top 10 in the state, led by Mojammel Haque who came second. The school, which has traditionally done well in board exams, attributes the astounding success to a family-like environment where students are observed, groomed and supported.
Headmaster Baridbaran Mishra was anxious on Saturday.He wanted a repeat of previous years where his students scored well in Madhyamik. Mishra cheered when the results arrived. He couldn’t have asked for more. Apart from Haque, the other rankholders were Sayam Karmakar (4th), Pratiksha Kanti Mondal (6th), Anindasundar Satpathi (7th), Rahul Manna (7th) and Risant Pal (8th).
The mood on the campus immediately turned festive with students and teachers celebrating with a clutch of local VIPs. Education minister Partha Chatterjee congratulated Mishra over phone.
What is the secret behind this success? Mishra said the fact that they groom students from the pre-primary stage makes a difference. “This is a unique advantage. We observe students over a long period and our teachers take extra tutorial classes. We have mobile numbers of all parents and send regular updates to them on the performance of their wards,” said Mishra.
A relationship of trust between students and teachers is very important, he added. “We treat every student as an individual. Each student has unique needs and we try and devise a support system that will help them. If some students fail to do well, we never humiliate them or compare them to the better students. You would be surprised to know that two of the students among the top six fared very poorly at the primary level. But now they are among the best we have.”
The school had also arranged for private tuitions for those who needed help outside school. “We could have told them that it’s not our job to arrange tutors for them. But we felt that some needed tuitions and could do well with their support. So we helped them. The results speak for themselves. We believe a school should support students in whatever way possible to let them excel,” the headmaster said.