The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Toppers eye professional courses

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Thursday, May 19, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Toppers eye professional courses

Tamil Nadu Bureau

Hard work, parental guidance helped them to score high marks, say front rankers

CHENNAI: Having worked really hard for the Plus-Two exams, the State's top four, all hailing from rural or semi-urban areas, are planning to take the well-trodden career path of medicine/engineering.

G. Sathya, daughter of A. Gurusamy, a farmer at Arunagiripalayam, near Paramathi Velur, topped the list with a score of 1185, taking Tamil as her first language. Apart from regular classes, special coaching and daily tests in Kurunju Higher Secondary School at Kavettipatty, Namakkal, and `combined studies' helped her. She thanked the school and its teachers for "friendly guidance."

Dithering between taking up engineering and medicine, it was her TNPCEE marks that set her on the path of medicine. "I scored 50 in Biological Sciences and my marks for medicine is 299.58, so I would like to do medicine. I want to be a cardiologist," she said.

Celebration time

It was celebration time not only for second ranker (1183) M. Asha Benazir of Rose Mary Matriculation Higher Secondary School, but also for the entire town, Palayamkottai, also known as the `Oxford of South India.'

A topper in SSLC as well, she said she did not take special classes or tuitions, but studied on her own. "I used to get up at 4.30 a.m. and work up to 10.30 p.m. everyday. During exams, I was in the habit of working for one more hour," says Ms. Asha. She thanks her parents, M. Meera Hussain, a sub-postmaster in Tuticorin and Vasila Fatima Begum, a community health nurse in Tirunelveli; her school, especially the principal, Joy Vasanthakumari; teachers and the God for her success.

It is medicine again for this high-achiever, with a cut-off mark of 299.17 in medicine. But she has grand plans after her graduation from Madras Medical College — she wants to be an IAS officer.

Intense coaching

The third rank (1181) is shared by R. Srinath of SRV Higher Secondary School, Rasipuram, Namakkal, and S.A. Ayesha of Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School, Uthangarai, Krishnagiri.

Srinath, a native of Bodinayackanur in Theni, attributes his success to encouragement from his parents, intense coaching at school and moral support from friends. The only son of a textile businessman, Ravichandran, and A.V. Nalini, a doctor, Srinath's ambition is to become an engineer.

"Though I have a good cut-off mark in medicine, I am not interested. I will have to concentrate for the entrance examinations for BITS, Pilani," he said.

`Medicine is her choice'

Ayesha said her mother, Shahnaz Begum, a doctor in the ESI Hospital, Hosur, is the reason for her success, acknowledging the role played by her school and teachers.

While medicine is her choice, she is clear that after postgraduation, she would like to become a teacher in a medical college.

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