11-year-old wonderkid clears Madhyamik

Kolkata: Saifa Khatun, a resident of Amta in Howrah, has cleared the Madhyamik Examination this year at an astonishing age of 11.

Being underage, it wasn't smooth sailing for Saifa to appear for the examination as there were some technical issues. Initially, she was denied permission. The family members of the girl had subsequently sought the intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who extended her help.

The family members then contacted the officials of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), who told them that she had to appear for an examination conducted by the Board before getting a go-ahead from it. A rule of WBBSE says that external candidates have to appear for the examination to get the permission for finally sitting for the Madhyamik Examination. In normal cases, students appear for the examination at the age of 15-16 years. Interestingly, Saifa never went to a school but was always confident that she would score good marks in the examination. She used to study at her home, with her parents being her only teachers. During her television interview with a vernacular channel on Tuesday, Saifa said that she had completed the studies of Class X when she was just 6-years-old. Her father used to collect books for her.

"I started reading English newspapers at the age of 2. I want to scrutinise some of my papers where I obtained less marks than what I deserved. I want to follow the right procedure in this regard. I am very fond of studying Geography and Life Science and want to become a doctor," Saifa said.