Haryana board declares revised Class 10 results after merit list goof-up

The Haryana Education Board released an incorrect merit list on Monday evening, inadvertently playing a cruel joke on three girl students from Fatehabad district.

According to the results announced around 4 pm, Monika Rani from Bhirdana village had topped the state by scoring 493 out of 500 marks. Three hours later, her world came crashing down. The education board issued a new list, which had a boy – Yudhveer Singh from Sirsa district’s Lehranwali village – occupying the top position with 499 marks.

The initial list had also granted the joint third position to Sakshi Karwasra, the daughter of a school bus driver in Bhutankalan village, and Anjali, a resident of Tohana town, with 490 out of 500 marks. Sadly, their names did not occupy positions of prominence in the rectified one either.

Monika, who wants to become a neurologist, refused to comment on the matter. Her father, however, could not hide his disappointment. “They played a joke on us today,” said Het Ram, a farmer.

Yudhveer’s father was happy, although he would have preferred a more straight-forward academic victory for his son. “I am proud of Yudhveer’s performance, but we do feel sad for the three girls who were made to face such disappointment for no fault of theirs,” said Jasbir Singh, also an agriculturist.

The family of the meritorious student said he had toiled hard for the distinction. “Yudhveer is a hard worker and a bright student. He used to study for more than eight hours a day,” said his mother, Sarbjeet Kaur.

Yudhveer, a student of the VN Senior Secondary School, wants to become a pilot.

The parents of neither Sakshi nor Anjali were available for comment. However, Sakshi said she would get her answer sheet reevaluated.

This is not the first instance of a technical glitch causing embarrassment to the board. Last year, it failed to declare the results on the pre-announced date due to a software issue, leaving many Class 12 students in the lurch.