UP board result 2017: Barabanki students fail to make it in Class 12 toppers’ list

No student from Barabanki could find a place in the merit list of top 5 in the UP Board Class 12 or intermediate examination 2017, the result of which was declared on Friday, in sharp contrast to the previous years’ trend when examinees from the district notched the top ranks almost every year.

Fatehpur district’s Priyanshi Tiwari was declared the topper in the intermediate exam with 96.20% marks. There are 14 students in the merit list this year.

Experts have always questioned the “concentration of toppers” in select schools in Barabanki as the merit list from the past years suggested the district was the breeding ground for meritorious students.

In 2016, four out of five ranks were shared by students of Maharani Laxmi Bai Memorial Inter College in Barabanki. Sakshi Verma secured the top spot with 98.20% marks and the second position was jointly shared by Pratima Singh and Sonali Verma of the same school. Both students secured 98%.

One of the toppers told the Hindustan Times in 2016 that she took admission in Maharani Laxmi Bai with the hope of “topping the exam”.

In 2014, Deeksha Verma and Riya Verma from Barabanki got the top rank with 97.4% in Class 12. Deeksha was from Ram Sewak Yadav Inter College and Riya studied in Maharani Laxmi Bai Memorial Inter College.

Abhilasha Yagyaseni and Apoorva Verma, both from Maharani Laxmi Bai Memorial Inter College in Barabanki, secured 96.2% marks to emerge as joint toppers in 2012.

This year, the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education got the copies of students scoring over 90% in the exams re-evaluated by senior examiners. UP Board’s secretary Shail Yadav said it was decided that the copies will be selected randomly from some districts to be evaluated again.

President of UP Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh Om Prakash Sharma said he has always demanded that answer sheets of the top three students on the merit list for Class 10 and Class 12 should be made public so that others preparing for next year’s board exam may learn from them.

RP Mishra, another office-bearer of the Shikshak Sangh, said board officials should upload answer sheets of the toppers on its website. According to Mishra, the teachers’ association has been demanding this for the past five years.

“It will not only clear all doubts about why the talents of students are limited to a few schools only, but will also put to rest all speculations about foul play,” he said.