Anupama Hireholi lost her father a year ago, but that did not stop her from earning the top rank in the SSLC exams (class 10) in Karnataka. She comes from a poor family in a village in Belagavi district.
She is a student of Sri Kumareshwar English Medium High School in Saundatti, Belagavi district. She is one of four students in Karnataka, to get 625/625 marks in the SSLC exams.
Her father, Shreeshail Hireholi, an employee in the Saundatti Yallamma temple committee in Belagavi district, died suddenly when Anupama was in class 9. Her mother, Rajashree, is an employee in a private hospital.
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Anupama has a younger brother who is in primary school. “Some relatives suggested that I drop out of school to enable my younger brother to study further. Even I wanted to discontinue studies, considering the difficult conditions at home. But my mother insisted that I continue,” she said.
“She did not enrol in any tuition class. She made the best use of the school library. Her teachers helped her with additional study material. She had to do household chores and then find time to study. She was serious about school from the first day,” says Ms Rajashree.
Anupama wants to pursue science and join an IIT. “If conditions permit, I would like to appear for the UPSC civil services examination,” she said.
