Maharashtra HSC results 2018 declared, children of wastepickers shine in exam

With only two hours to study every day, Kadam says it has been anything but easy for him. Kadam scored 89 per cent in his boards.

Eager to find out their HSC results, students gather at an internet cafe in Pune on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)

Written by Poulomi Chatterjee

HSC result 2018: Among the beaming faces of candidates who cleared the Higher Secondary certificate (HSC) examinations this year of MSBSHSE, the smiles of a few were brighter. Like 20-year-old Vijay Kadam, whose parents work as waste pickers in the city, while he sells coconuts from a stall in Chavannagar area. “I had taken external admission as I knew I could not go to college every day,” he says.

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With only two hours to study every day, Kadam says it has been anything but easy for him. Kadam scored 89 per cent in his boards. His goal is clear: “My father wanted to become a collector and he wants to see me live his dream. I have decided to do just that.”

Like Kadam, preparing for the examinations was a challenge for Sakshi Nade. Nade helps her mother, who is a wastepicker at Yerawada. She scored 81 per cent. “We are a family of 10. We live in a single room. It is very difficult to study during the day. During exams, when everyone is asleep, I study,” she says.

Education, Nade says, is the key to better opportunities. Her elder sister, Sakshi, is pursuing a course in medicine at the B J Medical College in Pune. “I want to crack the civil services examinations. That’s my dream,” she said.