A year-and-half back, K. Lekha, who was 17-years-old then, contacted the Childline, to prevent her marriage.

Officials of the Childline and Child Welfare Committee intervened and placed this student, who hailed from Naithanpatti of Melur block, at a Child Care Unit. Now, she has secured 549 marks out of 600 in the Class 12 State Board examinations, results of which were announced on Thursday.

Ms. Lekha’s mother has been suffering from mental disorder for nearly eight years. Her father, an alcoholic, had arranged her marriage. “I wanted to study and requested officials to help me,” she says.

Her education was interrupted and she had difficulties in securing admission in a school the next year. “Authorities spoke to the management of St. Justin’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Sivaganga district where I had studied. The school management reduced the fee and helped me to complete my education,” she says.

She stayed in the school hostel and completed her studies. “On Sundays, my friends would get visitors but no one came to see me. I felt heartbroken. But, I would tell myself to focus on studies,” she says.

She secured more than 90 marks in four subjects with a score of 97 in Accountancy.

‘I want to become a Chartered Accountant and support my mother and younger brother. Staying away from home has helped me understand complexities of life,” she adds.