TIRUPATI: In a heart-warming tale of grit and perseverance, a girl who dodged child marriage and braved odds to pursue her education has topped the first year intermediate board examinations in Andhra Pradesh.
S Nirmala, who hails from Pedda Harivanam in Kurnool district, secured 421 marks out of 440 (95.7%). A bright student throughout, she had passed her Class 10 exams last year with 537 marks out of 600 (89.5%).
However, her impoverished parents, who had already got their three other daughters married off earlier, planned the same for Nirmala too as the youngest of the four.The parents tried to convince her saying they could no longer fund her education. Also, as there was no junior college nearby, they told Nrmala it would be difficult for her to travel long distances to attend classes.
But Nirmala, adamant on pursuing her educational goals in life, approached local legislator Y Saiprasad Reddy during an outreach programme last year. Moved by the girl’s plight, the Adoni MLA informed collector G Srujana, who intervened and first rescued Nirmala from imminent child marriage. The district administration later got her admitted to Kasturba Gandhi Balikala Vidyalaya at Aspari. Nirmala grabbed the opportunity with both hands to top the intermediate test. Nirmala said she aspired to become an IPS officer and work towards abolition of child marriages and help girls like her pursue their dreams.
S Nirmala, who hails from Pedda Harivanam in Kurnool district, secured 421 marks out of 440 (95.7%). A bright student throughout, she had passed her Class 10 exams last year with 537 marks out of 600 (89.5%).
However, her impoverished parents, who had already got their three other daughters married off earlier, planned the same for Nirmala too as the youngest of the four.The parents tried to convince her saying they could no longer fund her education. Also, as there was no junior college nearby, they told Nrmala it would be difficult for her to travel long distances to attend classes.
But Nirmala, adamant on pursuing her educational goals in life, approached local legislator Y Saiprasad Reddy during an outreach programme last year. Moved by the girl’s plight, the Adoni MLA informed collector G Srujana, who intervened and first rescued Nirmala from imminent child marriage. The district administration later got her admitted to Kasturba Gandhi Balikala Vidyalaya at Aspari. Nirmala grabbed the opportunity with both hands to top the intermediate test. Nirmala said she aspired to become an IPS officer and work towards abolition of child marriages and help girls like her pursue their dreams.