MANSEHRA, July 19: The girl, who secured the top position in higher secondary school certificate examinations of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa educational boards, on Thursday urged other students to give top priority to their studies to live up to the expectations of their parents and achieve success in life.

“My father is a Wapda lineman. He managed the expenses of my studies despite drawing low salary. In light of his meagre resources, I always worked hard to give him the fruit of his labour. Almighty Allah, too, helped me,” Hamera Ihsan told reporters after attending a reception hosted in her honour by the administration of Mansehra Public School and College here.

Besides others, Abbottabad Intermediate and Secondary Board chairman Abdul Qayyum, MPSC principal Umar Khan Swati and another MPSC student Fatima, who also clinched ninth position in the board examinations, also spoke on the occasion.

Ms Hamera, who topped HSSC examinations of all educational boards in the province with 1,003 marks, said students were the future of any country and therefore, they should focus on their education during their studies so that they could pull the country out of current challenges faced by the nation.

She said she wanted to become an engineer and had applied for further education on scholarship.

“I deserve to get scholarship for future studies,” she said.

Speaking on the occasion, Fatima said women had lots of opportunities in all fields of life to excel.

Board chairman Abdul Qayyum told participants that Ms Hamera was the second student in the history of the province who got over 1,000 marks in HSSC examinations. He added that a girl from Peshawar secured 1,006 marks in the said examinations five years ago.

“I am pleased to say that of the top 33 positions in the HSSC exams, 18 have been clinched by girls,” he said.