Meet the family that took the Class XII exams together

In a small village in the Nadia district, a father, mother, son trio attended the Class XII exams together, as students. The recently announced West Bengal council of higher secondary education (WBCHSE) examination results saw something unusual when Kalyani Mandal (32) and Balaram Mandal (42) attended their Class XII exams with their son, Biplab Mandal (17).

They wanted to study. So we got permission from the headmaster. My parents had to wear the uniform, initially my classmates were taken aback. Later they became friends with my parents, said Biplab.

Due to financial constraints, Balaram and his wife Kalyani couldn't study further but then they decided to sit for the Class XII exam along with their son. Kalyani, who had dropped out after Class VIII, and Balaram, who couldn’t study after Class IX, are daily wage laborers. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, with scores of 228 and 253 respectively, both Kalyani and Biplab passed the exam. However, Balaram didn't get through. Both the parents enrolled for open schooling at Rabindra Mukto Vidyalaya. Balaram is a farmer, Kalyani rears goats every day.

My mother had to get married and father had to quit school because of financial problems. But they wanted to study further. They wanted to study… So we got permission from the headmaster. My parents had to wear the uniform. Initially my classmates were taken aback. Later they became friends with my parents.

All the three enrolled themselves in the arts stream and the family would share books and other materials to save money. When the recent results were out this Tuesday, the family had a mixed feeling about the announcement, since Balram, the father did not clear the exam says a HuffPost report,

I told him to seek a review. If there is no change in the results, he can take the examination again, said Biplab.

Around 84.2 percent students passed the Class XII board examinations conducted by the WBCHSE this year. This was the best pass percentage in the last 15 years.