Pune zilla parishad (ZP) schools emerged among the state’s best performers in the scholarship examinations, with Pune district recording the highest number of students in the Maharashtra merit list for both Class V and Class VIII declared on Friday.In the Class VIII (rural) examination, 57 students from the district made it to the state merit list—the highest among all districts. Nearly 45% of the state’s merit-listed students are from Pune, while 22 of the 57 are from ZP schools. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)In the Class V (rural) scholarship examination, 32 students from Pune district secured places in the state merit list, accounting for nearly 30% of the state’s total. Of them, 29 are from ZP schools. Three students featured among the state’s top 10, with Shreyas Salukhe of Takalkarwadi ZP primary school securing the second rank.In the Class VIII (rural) examination, 57 students from the district made it to the state merit list—the highest among all districts. Nearly 45% of the state’s merit-listed students are from Pune, while 22 of the 57 are from ZP schools. Arya Parekar of Dhanore ZP primary school secured the first rank in Maharashtra, while five students from the district featured in the state’s top 10.According to the zilla parishad, the performance reflects the success of the Pune Model School Project, which focuses on competency-based teaching, structured scholarship coaching, continuous mentoring, regular academic assessments and special guidance for meritorious students.Gajanan Patil, chief executive officer, ZP, said, “The achievement reflects the collective efforts of our students, teachers, parents and the education department. We will continue to set new benchmarks in public education.”