Twin sisters Rahima and Rabeya of Kurigram overcome poverty to score GPA-5 in HSC

In a household marked by want, meeting the cost of study itself was a struggle. Yet twin sisters Rahima Sardar and Rabeya Sardar of Rajarhat upazila in Kurigram did not give up. Through indomitable willpower and hard work, both of them have achieved GPA-5 from the humanities group in the 2026 HSC examination.

Rahima and Rabeya are daughters of Monir Hossain Sardar, a resident of Ramkajwi village in Chhinai union of Rajarhat upazila. They sat for the HSC examination from Rajarhat Government Mir Ismail Hossain College.

This year, 142 students from the college passed the HSC examination. Among the college sections of all 14 educational institutions of Rajarhat upazila — seven colleges, three school-and-colleges and four technical institutes — these two sisters are the only GPA-5 achievers. Two more students, however, obtained GPA-5 from the madrasa section.

Local sources say that as Monir Hossain has no permanent work, hardship is a constant in the family. Of his three daughters, the eldest is married. The other two daughters, Rahima and Rabeya, are studying. The parents are delighted with the HSC results of the two girls.

Overwhelmed by her daughters' achievement, mother Nasima Begum said, "My husband is unemployed. I have educated my daughters through great hardship. Private teachers taught the two sisters without any payment. Without everyone's cooperation, it would not have been possible for the girls to achieve such good results."

She also said, "The college principal, Professor Md. Zohurul Islam, charged only nominal fees for admission, form fill-up and various examinations. The girls also received stipends."

Speaking of their own hard work, Rahima and Rabeya said they studied with the goal of achieving good results in order to ease their father's suffering at least a little and to fulfil their own dreams. Apart from the time spent travelling to college and eating, they spent most of the day studying; even their sleeping time was limited.

The two sisters now dream of enrolling at a good university for higher education, and they say they are preparing with that goal in mind.

Congratulating the two on behalf of the college, Principal Professor Md. Zohurul Islam said, "Among the college-section institutions of Rajarhat upazila, only these twin sisters have obtained GPA-5 from the humanities group. We are delighted and proud of their success."

Rajarhat assistant upazila secondary education officer Sajjad Hossain said, "A total of four students, including the two sisters Rahima and Rabeya, obtained GPA-5 in the college section. The other two are students of the madrasa section."