Exam Results 2021 | A Students Story

The last year has been a strange one and a learning curve for schools and students, nearly all students in Goa never went to school during the last year, some were stranded in their villages due to local lockdowns, others could access online classes because they didn?t have a phone, let alone a 'smart' phone. It has been hard/chaotic and messy.

The biggest test for the system was 10th standard, SSC (GCSE Level) which is the minimum level all children want to achieve and a hugely important one. 10th standard students had a little access to school and actual teaching during the pandemic, but for many students who struggle it wasn?t enough to actually gain a suitable amount of knowledge and the system has severely let them down, this obviously hit the poor and disadvantaged more profoundly, but I hope that the lessons learnt from last year can help those who struggle.

10th Standard SSC results were announced yesterday and we really did not know what to expect. Robert had been given 13 'seat numbers' (unique student number) to check and was ready 5 minutes before the results were to go live at 5pm.

Directly at 5pm Robert set the search in motion and then realised that the button on the website that processed the request was disabled, one of the older students was watching a news feed and so many more were having the same problem and we continued to try. After about 20 minutes they announced on the news that the website was not working and it would be up at 5:30pm. Once again we tried and still the same problem, then we managed to get one request through, then another and then again the website was down. Robert thought to himself 'well this sort of sums up the last year!'. Robert was getting calls from the kids wanting to know their results, After 6pm things started to work and by 6:18pm we had downloaded all the marks. We are happy to announce that all the children who were registered for 10th Standard passed and it was great to see that the girls took the top 9 places! It was great to see that one of the boys did much better than expected and we are so pleased as he did work very hard this year and it was great that he now has a pass at 10th Standard.

Unfortunately, circumstances meant that for another student who was expected to do well, only just passed as he was in lockdown in the village during some of his material used to create the grades this year.

What?s next for them?

All the students have the opportunity to go to college level and study Arts, Commerce or Science stream and Goa Outreach will continue to support this. But as the pandemic is still a long way from finishing, we must take into account the extra difficulties this will bring to education and life in general.

Robert will be taking two of the girls for admission in the morning and this will be the start of their next adventure. Whatever happens, we wish all the students the best of luck in whatever they decide to do.

Today I will tell you about myself, how I came here, how much I had struggled during my study, the problems I faced, and how I overcame these problems to where I am today....

Firstly, I would like to say thank you to our Robert Lyon, who has who made it possible to be here and write this, without his help and that of Goa Outreach I would have been somewhere else completely. Robert always continues to help us while we are studying and even after leaving education, he continues to help in any way he can. Thank you, Rob! Robert Lyon, who has made it possible to be here and write this, without his help and that of Goa Outreach I would have been somewhere else completely. Robert always continues to help us while we are studying and even after leaving education.

Rob has helped me with any problem I faced, either with education or any other problems without a thought, and continues to help us till now. Thank you, I would never forget your precious help what you have been doing in transforming our life and for education.

Before I started at Goa Outreach my life was very simple and I was also not knowing English ( how to speak English because in my native place, Uttar Pradesh, the official language is Hindi so I only knew Hindi and nothing else. My friend, Gopi introduced me to Robert and after Robert had checked my living conditions headed my name to the charity called "GOA OUTREACH". My name was registered into the charity in the year 2016 when I was in 11th standard.

After a year I was able to read, write and speak a little English with others but still that much was not enough for me so I continued to try my best and spent time speaking with Robert to improve my English.

Rob, the founder of the charity is still helping us and I passed 12th Standard with a Distinction and then completed my Bachelor?s Degree in Commerce, also with a Distinction and I am now in the process of doing my Masters in Commerce at a Government College in Goa.

Goa Outreach has been helping me for the last 5 years with my education and I am so grateful for all the help, although this wasn?t the reason for writing this. I wanted to tell everyone about the extra help the charity has done for me, giving me a proud smile. A few years ago I was unhappy with my teeth as they were sticking out a little bit out and was not looking good. I even felt embarrassed t to smile because of my teeth. One of the helpers at the charity, Lila, was helping Rob to make sure all the children could be seen by a dentist as many of the children had cavities and bad teeth. The most important fillings and problems were completed first and then there was an opportunity for braces for those who were in need.

My front teeth were coming out as there were too many teeth in my mouth. To help I had 4 teeth extraction to make gaps so that my front teeth could be pushed back. Taking the teeth out did hurt and I was worried at the time, then there was more pain when my braces were fitted as the metal rails rubbed against my cheek. Each month we visited the dentist for tightening and I became used to them and started to see a difference. It has now been a year and last month it was finally time for my braces to be removed. I am so happy with my teeth now and I feel so much more confident in my new smile. I have just had impressions done for a retainer that will keep my teeth in place, this will hopefully happen by the end of this month.

Thank you to Rob for the precious help and also thank you to Lila who has fundraised for the dentist expenses and helped all the children with the dentist trips.