Kolkata, May 14 -- Cancer survivor Adrija Gan was among five students from Kolkata to feature in the top 10 of the Higher Secondary 2026 merit list, as the city recorded the highest number of students scoring above 90% in the state.

Kolkata registered a pass percentage of 91.88%, with 25,716 of the 27,988 candidates clearing the examination.

The city produced 544 A++ scorers (90-100%), the highest in the state. Another 3,100 students secured A+ grades (80-89%), 6,016 obtained A grades (70-79%) and 7,126 got B+ grades (60-69%). In all, 16,786 students, or around 65.3% of those who passed from Kolkata, scored 60% and above.

The highest-ranked student from Kolkata was Gholam Faisal of Calcutta Madrasah A.P. Department, who secured the fourth rank in the state with 493 marks (98.6%). The highest-ranked Urdu-medium student, Faisal had ranked eighth in Semester III and said he wants to become a chartered accountant. His father runs a tea stall near Circus Avenue.

Gan, a student of Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls' School, secured the 10th rank with 487 marks (97.4%) after ranking ninth in Semester III.

A resident of Belgharia, Gan was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, while studying in Class VI in 2018. She underwent treatment in Mumbai for two years and eight months, including 82 chemotherapy sessions, before going into remission in June 2021. She wants to study psychology and become a clinical psychologist.

Moupia Pal of New Alipore Sarada Ashrama Girls' School secured the eighth rank with 489 marks (97.8%). She was one of the three new entrants among Kolkata students in the top 10 and plans to pursue statistics.

Amritangshu Sahu of Scottish Church Collegiate School secured the ninth rank with 488 marks (97.6%). He said he had appeared for NEET and now plans to sit for the IIT entrance examination.

Samriddha Paul of Baranagore Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama High School also secured the 10th rank with 487 marks (97.4%) and wants to pursue engineering.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.