A student of Mathoba Vidyalaya, Nathaachiwadi in Daund Taluka, Pune, Manoj Rajendra Shinde scored 91 per cent in the SSC Board exams this year.
The boy lost his father when he was barely one. His mother Sangeeta Shinde works two jobs — as a maid in a nursery school and on daily wages at a farm — to provide for the family, he said.
His grandmother Kisnabai Shinde said, “Manoj has made us all proud. But he misses having his father around, and wishes he was here with him to see him achieving success.”
Manoj, himself has had to work hard to subsist the family income. “I worked as a herder during the school holidays to support my mother. She works for daily wages at farms to cover our household expenses. Though we do not have a our own house, she never stopped me from studying and always appreciated me.” Manoj would study late into the night with the help a of solar lamp and said that the support of his school teachers helped him immensely.”
His teacher Vikram Hake said, “Manoj took admission in our school in the fifth standard and since then he has ranked first every year. Our school is proud of him. If he receives help then he can fulfill his goal of becoming a doctor.”
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