Bengaluru: Girl from women’s shelter scores big in board exams

A 15-year-old girl from a women’s shelter in Vidyaranyapura has scored 92 per cent in her SSLC exams.

R Devika was brought to the Mahila Dakshata Samiti’s (MDS) Swadhar Greh when she was 12. “When I was in Class 6, my father started beating me. He would blame me for everything that went wrong and eventually took me out of school,” Devika recalls. Her mother, who is visually impaired, couldn’t do much to protect her.

A student of Oriental English High School, Vidyaranyapura, she showed promise in academics. So her mother approached the principal for help. The principal put her in touch with the government Child Welfare Committee, which referred her to MDS.

At first, Devika found it difficult to adjust to the place. However, she slowly began to feel at home. “I was able to focus on my education without worrying about anything else. Everything was taken care of,” she tells Metrolife.

Devika’s days in the run up to her board exams began at 4 am. She would start her day revising her lessons.
After returning from school, she would bury herself in her books again. “I
did not have the luxury of private coaching after school,” she says. Though mathematics and science are her preferred subjects, she did better in Kannada, Hindi, English and social science.

The teenager harbours hopes of becoming an IAS officer. “I want to be able to help other girls like me. And I also want to give my mother the best care possible,” she says.