Battling Blood Cancer And Chemotherapy, Bastar Girl Tops Class 10 Board Exam
In another significant development, a girl from the primitive tribe of Baiga Kangana Baiga topped her school in the Class 10 examination.
Raipur: Battling blood cancer and studying through the excruciating pain of chemotherapy, Ishika Bala, who hails from Maoist-hit Kanker district in Bastar, topped this year’s Class 10 board examination of Chhattisgarh by securing 99.16 per cent.
“It was very difficult for me to concentrate during the painful treatment. My parents and teachers stood behind me like a rock and used to motivate me to focus on my studies. I feel proud of my achievement today,” Ishika said, recounting her days of suffering and the struggle to overcome them.
She was diagnosed with cancer when she was studying in Class 9, in September 2023. “That day, I decided that I will not allow anything to come in my way of achieving my goal, come what may”, she recalls.
She had to drop out of her Class 10 boards last year as she was undergoing chemotherapy, though she attended classes. Her indomitable spirit moved her teachers to come forward to help her fight the odds.
“It was a very challenging time for me but I knew that I would come out of it with flying colours. One can easily concentrate on one’s study if one clears the fundamentals of the subject. That will generate interest in study”, she said, adding, “I aspire to be an IAS officer.”
Her parents Iti and Shankar Bala were confident that Ishika would win the battle with cancer, given the determination she had demonstrated in her boards.
In another significant development, a girl from the primitive tribe of Baiga Kangana Baiga topped her school in the Class 10 examination. Kangana, a student of government higher secondary school in Kumbharpur in Bharatpur district in Chhattisgarh, secured 83.7 per cent.
The results of Class 10 board examination of Chhattisgarh were declared here late on Wednesday evening.
State health minister Shyam Behari Jaiswal announced that the government would bear all the expenses of Ishika’s treatment. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai hailed Ishika for her achievement despite the adversity.
