India, July 5 -- Pune zilla parishad (ZP) schools emerged among the state's best performers in the scholarship examinations, with Pune district recording the highest number of students in the Maharashtra merit list for both Class V and Class VIII declared on Friday.

In the Class V (rural) scholarship examination, 32 students from Pune district secured places in the state merit list, accounting for nearly 30% of the state's total. Of them, 29 are from ZP schools. Three students featured among the state's top 10, with Shreyas Salukhe of Takalkarwadi ZP primary school securing the second rank.

In the Class VIII (rural) examination, 57 students from the district made it to the state merit list-the highest among all districts. Nearly 45% of ...