GPA-5 scorer could've been a dropout

In 2016, only a few months before his JSC examination, Shimul gave up studying and started working as a mason to support his destitute family.

But the teachers of the eighth grader would not let him do away with education. They were confident that Shimul, 18, had the potential to succeed. They brought him back to classroom and chipped in for his education.

When the SSC results came out, the boy proved his teachers right. He became one of only two male students from the Chittagong board who scored GPA-5 from humanities group in this year's SSC examinations. He is also the lone student to achieve GPA-5 from his school -- Katgor Golam Nabi High School in Sandwip upazila.

From greater Chittagong -- Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, and Bandarban districts, 42,562 humanities students appeared at the SSC exams while 25,592 of them passed and 28 (including two male students) scored GPA-5.

Talking to The Daily Star, Shimul said, “Being the son of a rickshaw-puller, it was almost impossible for me to continue my studies. I chose humanities instead of science because of the financial situation of my family.”

Didar, his father, could barely eke out a living for their five-member family with the paltry amount he earns, let alone pay for education.

“Hardship is a permanent companion of our family,” Didar said. “We struggle every day to make ends meet. In this situation, paying for my son's education is a luxury. But when people told me about his talents, I let him follow his dreams.”

Shimul is the second of three siblings. His elder sister was married off last year and this left the family even poorer. “The savings my father had were spent on her marriage,” he said.

His younger sister studies in the seventh grade at the same school.

It could have been a different story for Shimul, had his teachers not seen the spark in him, believed in his abilities, and let him shine.

“Shimul is a pride of our school,” said Shamim Bokteyar, the headmaster. “He has every possibility to thrive. What he needs is opportunity.”

The school teachers brought him back to study two months before his JSC exams, in which he scored GPA-4.75. Later, with the support of locals, they paid for his educational accessories.

To make sure he could study without interruptions, the teachers brought him to the school hostel two months before the SSC exams and paid for his living and educational expenses.

Though Shimul is all smiles now after seeing his achievement, his happiness starts to fade when he thinks about the next step -- college admission.

The teachers are worried as well.

“Now the new challenge is to get him admitted to a good college. We, the teachers, will contemplate what we can do for him,” said the headmaster.

Shimul dreams to become a civil service officer. And it all depends on how he treads the path to the future.