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UP Board results: Not yet 11 years’ old, Lucknow boy scores 79.16% in class 10
The Lucknow boy was home-schooled till two years ago when his parents obtained special permission for his admission in class 9. According to UP Board rules, a student needs to be at least 14 years of age to appear in class 10 board exams. Exceptions are made only in special cases.
A Lucknow boy, who is 10 years and eight months’ old, cleared Uttar Pradesh Board high school (class 10) with 79.16% marks. The result was declared on Saturday.
The boy, Rashtram Aditya Shri Krishna. was elated after scoring 86% in drawing, 84% in social science, 83% in English, 82% in Hindi, 76% in science and 64% in mathematics.
HN Upadhyay, the principal of MD Shukla Inter College (Lucknow) where Rashtram studied, was equally happy.
He said Rashtram took admission in class 9 after his parents obtained special permission from deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma about two years ago.
According to UP Board rules, a student needs to be at least 14 years of age to appear in class 10 board exams. Exceptions are made only in special cases.
As many as 99.53% students passed the UP Board high school (class 10) and 97.88% cleared intermediate (class 12) as girls outshone boys at both levels in the results which were declared on Saturday about two months after the exams were cancelled in view of an aggressive second wave of Covid-19. The students were assessed on the basis of an alternative methodology in 2021 and the results were determined accordingly.
“Aditya had never been to any school (before). He was being educated at home (by his parents). Two years ago, after the UP Board gave him special permission, he got admission in Class 9 at a school in the Nakkhas area of Lucknow,” said his father Pawan Kumar Acharya, who is an astrologer and author.
Rashtram said, “I practised yoga, pranayama and learnt meditation from my father. I played chess with him. This boosted my interest in studies.”
He said although he had not made up his mind, he may join the air force or do commando training after completing his education. He could also opt to be a robotic engineer as he has an interest in robotics. He may try his luck in the civil services exams too, he said.
Ultimately, he wanted to serve the nation (rashtra) and live up to his name Rashtram Aditya Shri Krishna, he added.
His father said: “I chose this unconventional path of home-schooling, because I felt if he can manage to learn advanced books, let him try. I worked on this project. I prepared him psychologically, then academically.”
“Simultaneously, I worked for permission from the administration. I thank all those who genuinely helped me in this endeavour. I also thank those who discouraged me, because then I thought, I have nothing to lose but the chains of traditional tracks of education and if I win, I open a new path for extraordinary children,” he said.
The boy’s mother Richa Pawan said, “He has been an intelligent and a disciplined child since the beginning. He could easily focus on the subjects I taught. He is a keen observer and a good listener. He learnt the subjects easily. When he started playing in between studies, sometimes I had to be strict. But, in general, he has been a brilliant student of mine while (I have been) playing the role of a teacher. I kept him away from the domestic gossip and disturbances and thus could maintain a good atmosphere of development at home.”
“Aditya has always been extraordinarily talented. He spends a lot of time in my private library, browsing reading advanced books. He is extremely studious and curious and comes up with a lot of questions. We moved an application with the UP Board and it was acknowledged,” said Acharya.
About 14 years ago, Sushma Verma of Lucknow became the country’s youngest matriculate in 2007 when she passed the UP Board high school examinations. Born on February 2, 2000, Sushma was just seven years’ old at the time. The achievement earned her a place in the Limca Book of Records. She secured 354 marks out of 600 in the exams.
At 15, Sushma added another feather to her cap by becoming the youngest postgraduate in the country. She followed this up by becoming the youngest Indian to enrol in a PhD course (at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow).
Sushma outdid her elder brother Shailendra, who became the youngest computer science graduate in the country in 2007. Shailendra was just 14 when he completed his Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) course. At present, he is pursuing MBA from a Bengaluru-based institute.
Shailendra passed Class 12 at the age of 11. He also cleared the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and secured admission at a university in the United States of America. However, he could not join the university due to financial problems.
