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Toy seller's son earns perfect score on national exams
Ananda "Hafidh" Rifai Kusnanto may come from humble beginnings, but the 17-year-old has already made several academic achievements.
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Ananda "Hafidh" Rifai Kusnanto, the son of a single mother who works as a toy seller, has scored a perfect 100 on all four subjects in the computer-based national exams (UNBK). (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
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mid his family's constant financial difficulties, Ananda "Hafidh" Rifai Kusnanto, a student at state SMAN 4 Surakarta senior high school in Central Java, has earned a perfect score on the computer-based national exams (UNBK), which were held in April.
Hafidh, 17, scored the highest mark of 100 in each of the four subjects of the UNBK: Mathematics, Indonesian, English and Chemistry – his choice for the optional natural sciences (IPA) subject.
Unlike other high school students who spend most evenings at private bimbingan belajar (bimbel) – or exam preparatory institutions – Hafidh studied on his own.
His mother Supatmi could not afford to pay for the courses, which cost millions of rupiah, as she sells toys for a living. Supatmi is a widow and the sole breadwinner for Hafidh and her three other children.
Hafidh said he did not have a specific time set aside for studying, as he had to juggle between his studies, his house chores and tending to his three siblings while his mother was at work.
"I usually studied in the evening by answering questions from previous exams. I tried not to memorize the formulas, but put them into practice. I repeated the same routine in the morning before going to school. That's all, I didn't have any specific strategies," he said on Wednesday.
The Astronomy silver medalist at the 2017 National Science Olympiad attributed his success to "luck".
