Nashik’s Vrunda Rathi Tops JEE Exam Among Girls

17-year-old Vrunda Rathi has topped this year’s the Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE) among girls.

For most students doing well in the JEE means entry to IIT. But Vrunda has different dreams. She wants to attend the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru since she wants to pursue a career in research.

Vrunda was a student of IITians Pace Academy and is ranked at number 71 in India. She started studying during class 11 but made sure to pursue her other interests like playing the flute. Chairperson of the CBSE board RK Chaturvedi called her personally to congratulate her on her score and her rank.

“I was surprised and shocked to receive that call and just to calm my nerves, I didn’t start celebrating till I saw my score on the website. I was working hard for the exam but I never expected this score,” Vrunda said.

She is aspiring to maintain the same rank in the JEE Advanced exams which will take place on May 21.

As many as 11.8 lakh students registered for the JEE (Main), and 2.21 lakh have qualified for JEE Advanced. Of these 2.2 lakh, only 11,000 will get seats in the IITs. Women’s representation in the IITs is less than 10 per cent. To increase women’s participation, the IITs have decided to institute a quota in a phased manner for women. The quota will reach 20 per cent by 2026. The supernumerary quota will begin in 2018 at 14 per cent. Seats vacated by women will also be filled with other women.

Also Read: New Milestone: IITs To Reserve More Seats For Women

Picture credit: Indian Express