D. Uma Maheswari, daughter of construction workers, has emerged the topper at the Government Adi Dravida Welfare Girls Higher Secondary School, Kattur, in Tiruchi, scoring 474 marks in the SSLC exam.

The girl, who wants to study agriculture, has scored a centum in Social Science, 99 in Tamil, 95 in Science, 94 in English and 86 in Mathematics.

Both her parents are daily wage labourers engaged in the construction industry. While her father, B.Dharmaraj (56) is a mason, Annalakshmi, her mother, is a construction labourer. Uma Maheswari, who has two siblings, also manages the household whenever her parents leave for work. The family lives in a ramshackle house in a small piece of land they own at Anna Nagar near Kattur.

“I want to study agriculture as I am interested in farming although we do not have any land. But I am not sure whether my parents can afford my higher studies,” said Uma Maheswari.

Her father is however determined to ensure that all his three children have good education. The couple earn about ₹400 a day. “My son, the eldest, is pursuing final year diploma in the Government Industrial Training Institute. My youngest daughter is studying standard VIII. But I will work hard to fulfil the wishes of my children,” he said.