Imphal: The Manipuri boy, who topped this year`s CBSE class 12 examination, on Tuesday said he wanted to join St Stephen`s College in Delhi and try his luck at the civil service examination subsequently.
A jubilant 19-year-old Mohammand Ismat, who secured 99.6 per cent marks in CBSE, the results of which were out on Monday, said that he would like to study at St Stephen`s after which he would take the civil service examinations.
"Impossible is not in my mind and I have the strong conviction that everything is possible when a man is determined. And it is this belief which helped me in my examination", he told reporters when asked about the secret of his success.
Hailing from the interior Lilong village of Thoubal district, Ismat is the only son of primary school teacher Basir Ahmed.
With unending phone calls and a steady stream of visitors congratulating him at his house, the teenager is now a local hero in the state which has been in the national news more often for militancy.
Several social organisations in the state have congratulated him while former irrigation and flood control minister N Biren said he would give Rs 20,000 to help the boy for his further studies.
"After passing my class ten examination, I thought of studying in some good school in Imphal but I could not because of the acute financial difficulties faced by my family," Ismat said.
After studying at a small village school, he then got enrolled at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Imphal before joining a private school Zenith Academy here where he was helped by his teacher S M Singh who guided him after spotting talent.
"He even took care of my fees. I am really grateful to him", the teenager said, adding that he would work hard to succeed in the civil service exams.
PTI
