Maharashtra: Moonlighting as night school student, domestic help clears SSC along with son
With a score of 60 per cent in SSC, 36-years old Shilpa Gangawane stands out among the rest. This is not only because she has returned to education after a gap of over two decades, but also because she passed SSC along with her son Shubham (15) who has scored 68 per cent. “He was initially uncomfortable, thinking about how I will study along with him. But he soon started helping me with my studies. First couple of months were a struggle for me due to the huge gap in academics,” said Shilpa who had no time to celebrate her result as she continued working on Friday. A resident of Aarey Colony, Shilpa works as a domestic help in houses in the neighbourhood. She had to quit her studies after clearing class 8 due to poor family background. “I had an early marriage and got busy with family life and kids,” said Shilpa who studied in Shankarwadi Night School which is covered under NGO Masoom’s Night School Transformation Program. It was through the NGO that Shilpa got reintroduced to studies and is now planning to appear for HSC (Class XII) too “if it can be managed along with work”. “I have to earn to ensure my children study and live a better life,” she said.
Out of a total of 85 night schools covered under Masoom’s programmes, 49 have scored 100 per cent result in the SSC 2022 exam.
City high-scorers
Sanjana Ranade
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Premium499/500 – 99.80 percent
Thakur Vidya Mandir, Kandivali
“I was rooting for an offline exam and was more than happy when schools reopened. This provides us a fair platform to prove our potential,” said Sanjana who was expecting to score above 95 percent. She has received additional 15 marks for achievements in classical dance (Bharatnatyam) and vocal training. Sanjana’s sister Sanika had scored 100 per cent in the year 2017. Sanjana plans to pursue Commerce for higher studies.
Radha Rasam
498/500 – 99.6 per cent
Father Agnel School, Vashi
“As schools reopened and it was final that the exams will be held in traditional offline format; I was all the more motivated to study,” said Radha. Radha received additional 15 marks for her achievements in classical dance training in Kathak. Radha wishes to take admission to a good college in Arts stream and focus on preparing for civil service exams as she wants to “contribute to society’s development”.
Zaara Jabbar, 98.2 per cent
Father Agnel School, Vashi
Zaara Jabbar’s 98.2 per cent score stands out with her extraordinary performance in sports. Zaara is a national-level swimmer, who has represented the state in Khelo India. She was selected by the School Games Federation of India (for Maharashtra) to participate in the ISF – World School Gymnasiade 2022, Normandy – France. She is currently training for the junior nationals to be held at Bhubaneswar from July 16 to 20.
