MP: Son of swimming pool caretaker, daughter of garage mechanic bag top two positions in Class 10 board exam

The son of a swimming pool caretaker and daughter of a garage mechanic outshone lakhs of students to bag the top two positions in the Class 10 exam of the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, the result of which was declared on Thursday. Indore boy Mridul Pal amassed 494 marks out of 500 - 98.8 per cent - to emerge as the topper, while city girl Prachi Gadwal scored 493 - 98.6 - to take the second position.

MP School Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar announced the result of the board exam which saw a pass percentage of 63.29. The pass percentage stood at 59.54 last year.

Mridul's father Harishankar looks after a swimming pool, while his mother Urmila stitches clothes to support the family. The ecstatic parents spoke to their son, who is visiting his aunt in Lucknow, through a video call.


"I was hopeful of making it to the merit list but did not dream of bagging the first position. I charted out my own strategy and did not go to a coaching centre," an elated Mridul told PTI over the phone.

The teenager, who went to a private school, said he loves Mathematics and aspires to become a software engineer.

Her voice choking with emotion, Urmila told PTI, "I stitch clothes and God only knows how much we struggled to raise our son. He has been topping his classes since Nursery."

Jubilant teachers at the private school where Prachi studied garlanded her for making them proud.

"I studied for six to eight hours daily. My funda was to concentrate fully while studying," she said.

Prachi said that she stayed away from distractions like Instagram and Facebook. She is preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and is aiming to get into an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology).

Her father Hukumchandra Gadwal said, "I am overwhelmed with joy as the daughter of a person who works as a mechanic in a garage has achieved such a huge feat."