Both Zaina Hamid and Sumitha Subramaniyam scored 94.6 percent in grade 12 examinations conducted by the New Delhi-based Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and shared top honors among all Indian schools in Saudi Arabia. The results were published on May 20.

“We had full faith in our daughter’s abilities,” said Zaina’s parents Hamid and Fouzia Ibrahim Sait. The Hamids are from Bangalore in India and have been in the Kingdom for more than 20 years. Zaina had most of her schooling in Riyadh. “We moved to the Eastern Province only three years ago,” said Hamid who works as a commercial manager for KLM. “I admire the dedication of all the teachers at the Indian school in Dammam. On many occasions they went out of their way to help our daughter. They gave her special attention,” he said.

“Zaina has always excelled in studies securing A1 grades right from KG. We anticipated her doing well in Grade 12 too and being a school topper. Her topping Saudi Arabia was like icing on the cake,” he said. On Zaina’s first reaction, he said: “She burst out singing, ‘Aaj main oopar aasman neeche.’”

Zaina is now in India trying to secure admissions to an engineering program. “Right now she is taking the entrance test. She wants to be a computer engineer,” said Hamid.

Fouzia Hamid, Zaina’s mother, has been a teacher all along. However, she says her children needed no extra coaching at home. “I teach English at a local school, no, not the Indian school. All my children have always been independent and very focused,” she said.

Sumitha Subramaniyam’s success came as a pleasant surprise for her father Subramaniyam Arumugam who works with Larsen and Toubro ATCO Saudi. “I expected her to be the school topper. I never thought she would top in the whole of Saudi Arabia. That is good news,” he said. The Subramaniyams are from Chennai in India.

Subramaniyam said his daughter plans to pursue medicine. “She has always had a passion to become a pediatrician. Hopefully she will,” he added with a lot of pride.

Zaina and Sumitha’s families were deluged with compliments from members of the Indian community. Among the first persons to call the families was IISD Principal E.K. Mohammed Shaffe.

“Naturally, it is a big moment for us. To get two toppers in the entire Kingdom is a big achievement and speaks volumes about the dedication of our faculty. This is due to the combined efforts of the teachers, the management committee, parents and the students themselves.”