The Visakhapatnam district administration on Monday felicitated 134 students, who secured top ranks in the SSC and Intermediate public examinations held earlier this year in March, under the State government’s “Shining Stars” programme, at the VMRDA Children’s Arena in Siripuram.

District Collector M. Abhishikth Kishore, MLAs Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu (Visakhapatnam East) and P. Vishnu Kumar Raju (Visakhapatnam North), and VMRDA chairman Pranav Gopal were present. The guests began the day by visiting the “Ambition Wall”, “Gratitude Wall” and “Dream Wall” set up by students at the venue.

Of the awardees, 88 students from 11 mandals were recognised for their performance in the SSC examinations, and 46 from various junior colleges for their performance in the Intermediate examinations. Each recipient received a cheque for ₹20,000, a medal and a copy of Swami Vivekananda’s biography, taking the total disbursement in the district to ₹26.8 lakh.

Mr. Kishore said the Shining Stars award marked a student’s first success in life, and urged recipients to build on it rather than stop at this milestone. He called on students to focus on “smart work” alongside hard work, and said Visakhapatnam’s students should aim to become role models nationally.

Mr. Ramakrishna Babu recalled the government’s earlier felicitation initiatives during 2014-19, and said he had studied under lantern light in his own school days, contrasting it with the facilities available to students today.

Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju said education was the one thing that stayed with a person through life, and cautioned parents against comparing high scorers with those who scored less, saying it could discourage children.

Mr. Gopal said honouring students who had excelled in government schools was a matter of pride, and noted growing interest among students in moving from private to government schools.