General Education Principal Secretary Sharmila Mary Joseph who announced the SSLC results on Friday is herself a SSLC rank-holder.

Ms. Joseph bagged the third rank in 1986, securing 580 marks. A student of Holy Angels’ Convent school in the capital city, she worked hard and excelled in studies. “The competition was tight in our school. Every year, students would get top ranks. Many of us aspired to reach the top,” she said.

In 1986, girls took the top three ranks, with Ms. Joseph sharing the third spot with a male student. That was also the time when the pass percentage was 46.73%, unlike now when pass percentages have crossed 99%. “Exam pressure too existed. The SSLC exams would be held on consecutive days, in the morning and afternoon. There was no gap between exams as exists now.”

Asked if she would want the rank system to return, Ms. Joseph said the change to grades was made on the basis of several studies that highlighted the extreme pressure that the race to achieve ranks put on students. In the case of grading, it was felt that grading would put an end to comparison between students and labelling them, she pointed out.

After school, Ms. Joseph went on to complete her MBBS. She was pursuing MD when she appeared for the Civil Services examination.

Ms. Joseph, for whom the announcement was unexpected, expressed her satisfaction in delivering the SSLC results. She encouraged students to set ambitious goals and devote themselves to their studies in order to seize upcoming opportunities.