Goma, a brick kiln worker, scored 4 GPA in SEE, aims to be a doctor

Bhaktapur, June 30: “Goma Shrestha had just returned from planting paddy on a local farmer’s land when the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) 2081 results were published on Friday. Naturally, she wanted to know her score. She went online to check the results. The maximum GPA was 4, and she discovered that she had achieved it.”

“Goma was a student of Mahendragram Secondary School in Changunarayan-8, Sudal, and she appeared in the SEE from the same school. Despite studying at a community school, she secured a 4.0 GPA, becoming the best student in Changunarayan Municipality and one of the top 30 students in Bhaktapur.”

Originally from Ramechhap, Goma came to Bhaktapur from Khanyapani with her parents at the age of four. Her father, Meen Bahadur Shrestha, said they moved due to the family’s poor financial condition.

‘On one hand, it was our economic hardship, and on the other, it was Goma’s early interest in studies that led me to leave our native place and come to Bhaktapur,’ said Meen Bahadur. ‘She was just four years old at the time.'”

Meen Bahadur came to Bhaktapur and started working in a brick kiln; meanwhile, Goma got admission to the nearby Mahendragram Secondary School. Meen Bahadur enrolled her daughter in the school next to the brick kiln.

As she grew older, Goma began helping her parents with their work—attending school in the afternoon and laying bricks in the morning. She followed this routine almost daily until Grade 9. In Grade 10, however, she changed her schedule. “My parents also told me to focus on my studies for just one more year,” Goma said.

“The school also advised her to focus on her studies as the SEE was approaching. ‘So, I adjusted my daily routine and started studying more. As a result, I scored well in the SEE today,’ she said. Goma shared that her goal is to become a doctor. But for that, she said, there is no alternative to hard work—except earning a scholarship.”

“My goal is to study MBBS on a scholarship at a medical college in Nepal after completing my Plus Two in science,” she said. “I want to become a good doctor and serve my birthplace, my country, and the people through selfless work. I know it requires hard work, and I am ready for it.”