History repeat brings delight, despair

MUMBAI: Over a week ago, TOI had reported the loss of 82 ICSE History answer sheets written by students from Hiranandani Foundation School, Thane. The Class X students had to cut short their holidays and give the exam again, as the answer sheets were lost in transit en-route to Delhi. Though the paper deviated from the standard format, much to their relief, many of the students scored over 90% in a subject like History.
"I'm feeling so relieved.After all the turmoil we have been through, the results, by and large, have been good,'' said Minoo Lamba, principal of Hiranandani Foundation School, adding that 25 students had scored 90% and above in History and Geography.
Shimona Mukherjee, one of the students who had to give the exam again, could not believe that she had scored a 97% in History and Geography. "This is completely unexpected. When I sat for the paper the second time, I found it really tough. The paper didn't go off well as the previous History paper. So my marks have come as a complete surprise,'' said Shimona, whose average score in the ICSE exam worked out to 95%.
While some students like Shimona were thrilled with their scores, a few, however, felt they would have fared better had it not been for the fiasco with the History papers, and were unhappy with their marks.
Arushi Shrivastava, who scored 76% in History and Geography, as well as Kavya Ramesh who scored 78% in the subject, felt their History marks had pulled down their average score.
"My daughter would have done a lot better had it not been for History,'' added the parent of another student.