Year after year, as students sit for exams and receive their results, we see how a single number on a marksheet can begin to feel far heavier than it should. What we observe around us and what occasionally makes headlines gives a sobering glimpse into this reality. In Faridabad, a 16-year-old girl saw 60% on her marksheet and saw no way forward. Hours later, her body was found on a railway track. She had put a note at her family temple, asking for 80%. Somewhere between 60 and 80, a child decided she was not enough. Across cities, asCBSE 10th board resultsare celebrated, the messaging is clear even when it isn’t said out loud. For some, 90% feels incomplete, even 93% comes with regret and somewhere even 98% often carries the burden of 'almost'. The idea of 'enough' keeps shifting and is almost always out of reach.
And yet, just outside this narrow band of perfection, there are stories that quietly challenge that narrative. Two months into Class 10, Hitesh Bajaj from Pimple Saudagar (Pune) noticed a swelling in his neck. The cancer diagnosis replaced classrooms with hospital corridors. “My parents were naturally worried,” he says. “But I believe in the power of manifestation. I knew I would be okay… and do well.” Doing well, in his case, meant returning to school after chemotherapy, showing up even when his body was still recovering and writing exams without knowing how much he could push himself. And his teachers at VIBGYOR High School supported him, took extra classes as he didn't get as much time to prepare as his peers got. He scored 70%. In a system that glorifies near-perfect marks, that number can seem ordinary, but it is anything but. It is what survival looks like on a marksheet. Behind it are parents who lived through every uncertain report and every round of treatment and held their fear quietly so their child could hold on to hope.
For Ayan Roychaudhari from Hinjewadi, the disruption came just before pre-boards. While competing at a sports event, representing his school, he fractured his right hand in December. “It’s not easy to explain what it feels like while writing exams like that. But I couldn’t give up,” he says. His school provided him a scribe to write his exams, but for Maths and Science, he chose to write on his own. "It is not easy to write an examination with someone else's help. In fact my scribe had to be changed in the last minute because he also had his examination. I wanted to do maths and science on my own as they are important subjects in the field I am planning to take." When asked if he can have an easier year now with Class 10 boards behind him, he quickly says with clarity rare at that age, “This is just the beginning of competitive pressure. It’s not going away. You just have to stay focused and keep doing what you enjoy.” At home, that perspective was nurtured, not forced. Even during his exams, his parents didn’t take away his phone or impose rigid control. “They trusted me unlike most of my peers whose parents took away their phones and monitored how they were studying and spending their time,” he says. In a culture of constant monitoring and pressure, that trust becomes its own form of support.
Samarth Deshmukh’s journey is defined by a different kind of choice. A student with special needs, he was eligible for a scribe, but chose not to use one. He wrote every paper independently, insisting on doing it his way. It wasn’t about proving a point but it was about taking ownership. And this self-belief is shaped by his parents who don’t just step in to make things easier, but step back enough to let their child try and define their own pace. He earned 76%.
Aditya Gupta’s story unfolds more quietly but is no less powerful. On the autism spectrum, his preparation required not just discipline, but deep self-awareness. "I am happy with my marks,” he says simply. “We went out for dinner to celebrate." Behind that moment is a mother who adapted alongside him. She took time off work, building revision tools using platforms like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity AI, but also knowing when to pause. "When he felt overwhelmed, I would just tell him to stop. We would cook, talk… just be." That instinct to recognise when to stop is perhaps the most undervalued form of support in a system that rewards relentless pushing.
Then there is Srishti Makhija from New Delhi, a skilled coder who scored 74 per cent and is genuinely delighted. She sees this year as a stepping stone, using her time to get better at coding through self-learning and online communities, with her family’s full support. Her mother says, "I just tell her not to strain her eyes in front of the computer, but what she achieves amazes us. We’re happy with her results."
And this is where the full picture comes into view. These are not just stories of children navigating pressure, they are also stories of parents quietly absorbing it. Parents who chose presence over performance, trust over control and resilience over perfection. Hitesh’s parents, holding themselves together through hospital corridors. Ayan’s parents, choosing not to turn preparation into surveillance. Samarth’s parents, allowing independence to take precedence over protection. Aditya’s mother, balancing structure with softness.
In contrast is the story from Faridabad, of a child believing a number defined the limits of her life. We may never fully know what she felt in those final moments, but her story forces an uncomfortable question: what are children hearing when we talk about marks? Because even when we say 'it’s okay' the world around them often says otherwise.
As the99-percenterstake their well-earned place in the spotlight, there are other victories unfolding more quietly, a 70% after a year of illness, an exam completed against physical odds, a celebration of 76% that comes not from perfection but from persistence. These are not consolation stories. They are, in many ways, the real measure of success. Because beyond the decimal point, beyond the shifting definition of 'enough' what remains is this: the ability to endure, the courage to continue, and the presence of parents and teachers who makes sure you don’t have to do it alone.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
