Date:31/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/31/stories/2007053111080200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Toppers still soaking it in

BANGALORE: Students in the city are still celebrating the results of Class X and XII examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Many CBSE schools that are part of The Hindu's NIE programme recorded cent per cent pass.

Science was the choice of many toppers, while a few said they were interested in pursuing a course in either commerce or management.

Akshay Ravi, the Class XII topper in National Public School, Koramangala, is awaiting the results of various entrance tests. His ambition is to do a postgraduate course in electronics engineering. Says proud father Ravi Iyer, "I am a chartered accountant but my son is not interested in taking up commerce. As children grow up, their choices become clearer."

Banushree. K., the Class X topper in the same school, plans to pursue a career in either biotechnology from Stanford University or marine engineering from an Australian university.

Priyanka Madan, who stood second in the Class X examination, plans to become an architect. "I intend to do a basic course in architecture in India and a specialised course abroad in urban planning." Her father, Madan, a cardiologist at Air Force Hospital, says that these days children have many choices and it is a huge relief to parents.

V. Ramesh, the Class X topper in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Railway Colony, will pursue a career in engineering.

Vidya. B.U., the Class X topper in Sri Vani Education Centre, Magadi Road, has kept her options open. She is yet to decide whether to pursue a career in engineering or medicine. "She has interest in both. Probably, she will make up her mind once she completes Class XI," says her father, Umashanker.

L.S. Shyamsunder Sharma, president of Sahodaya, an association of private CBSE schools, and senior principal of Sri Vani Education Centre, says children are capable of making their own decisions. "The options are many, and parents must only don the role of a guide," he says.

The Hindu NIE Team