After schools, the rural colleges of the region have now followed suit in making their mark in the semester results recently declared by Panjab University, Chandigarh.Students from rural colleges of the region have secured top university positions across streams, from nearly 200 colleges affiliated to the university, thus setting a benchmark.AS College, Khanna, outshone others as Simranjit Kaur of the BSc third semester bagged the first position in Panjab University by scoring 9.71 SGPA.Navjot Kaur of the BA third semester clinched second position in the university with 9.08 SGPA, while Jaismeen Kaur of the BCom third semester claimed third position with 8.88 SGPA.Ravneet Kaur of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, of BA third semester obtained the 14th rank in the university with 8.54 SGPA, followed by Amanpreet Singh at 18th rank with 8.38 SGPA and Samanpreet Kaur at 19th rank with 8.33 SGPA in the same class.In the BCA results, Anmol Bhatia swept 14th rank by securing 8.75 SGPA and Gurpreet Abheypal recorded 15th rank in the university with 8.71 SGPA.Similarly, in the BBA 3rd semester results, Prabhjot Kaur achieved 13th rank with 8.13 SGPA and Mehakpreet Kaur figured at 20th rank with 7.83 SGPA.Similarly, at Gobindgarh Public College, Alour, Ishika Garg of BCom third semester grabbed the 15th rank in the university by securing 8.38 SGPA, while Javisht Saggar of BCom third semester recorded 20th rank with 8.17 SGPA.Simranjit Kaur of B.Sc third semester, who stood in first position in Panjab University, shared that she followed a fixed study schedule and cleared doubts in the class itself.My teachers were available even after college hours for help,” Simranjeet expressed.Navjot Kaur, of the BA third semester, who achieved second position in the university told that she focused on the presentation of the answers and managed all questions within time.Still, other toppers said that regular self-study and family support helped them a lot.“My parents made sure that I had no distractions and my teachers cleared every doubt,” said Ishika.Ravneet too said that she studied for 5-6 hours at home and revised everything taught to her in the class.Dr. K K Sharma, Principal of A.S. College, Khanna College, expressed that the results prove that the rural students are second to none when provided with the right direction, a good environment and polished faculty.“Securing first, second and third position in the university where nearly 200 colleges compete, is not easy in any way. It reflects the sustained hard work, both by the students and the faculty,” he added.Dr. Sarvjeet Brar, Principal of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, opined that the achievements highlight the potential of rural students when given proper guidance and infrastructure.Further, the dedication of faculty and the hard work of students have enabled the rural colleges to compete with their urban counterparts on merit,” the principal asserted.Dr. Neena Seth Pajni, Principal, Gobindgarh Public College, Alour, shared that both their top performers are from the commerce stream.“The commerce faculty has been holding regular presentations and case studies, which helped the students understand concepts beyond their textbooks. I congratulate the rank holders, their parents and their teachers who have worked in coordination to reach such a commendable result,” the principal said.