Asansol/Kolkata: Two students from Asansol and one from Kolkata secured the All India second rank in the ICSE Class X exam results announced on Sunday. Abhay Kumar Singhania of St Patrick School and Aliya Rafat of AG Church School, both from Asansol, and Kolkata Future Foundation School's Mohammad Masood grabbed second place.
They all got 498 out of 500 in the Class X board exam. According to sources, Abhay lives in Singhania Bhawan opposite Shyam Mandir in the Raha Lane area of Asansol. His father Praveen Singhania is a private sector employee while his mother Prabha Singhania is a housewife. According to Abhay, he has been able to achieve the feat mainly due to his mother's strong efforts and will.
Abhay said he took private tuition just six months ahead of the exam. He had no fixed time for study. Aspiring to become an engineer, Abhay said, "Don't stop. Keep studying. There is no room for complacency. You stop when you get complacent." Aliya Rafat, a candidate from a middle-class family, has surprised the entire industrial area. She secured 99.6 percent. The Asansol AG Church School student secured the second rank in the country's merit list, like Abhay and Masood. Alia is a resident of the Ismail area of Asansol. Her father Afsar Alam is a teacher in a government primary school while her mother is a housewife.
"One can achieve such results by reading the syllabus well. I got great support from the school. The tutors were also helpful. I used to draw pictures and read story books. There was no fixed time for reading. I used to read whenever I wanted," Aliya, who wants to become a doctor, said.
She has been admitted to the Riverside School in Burnpur and is also undergoing training for medical entrance at a private coaching centre in Durgapur. Confident Alia Rafat said that she wants to serve the country as a doctor. There are 110 people on the merit list. Among them, 18 are from West Bengal. Out of these 18 people, 4 are residents of Kolkata.
