Kondotty: Thayil Niaz Mon and Nanakkal Taslim Basil have been thick friends since school. The natives of Malappuram even trained together for the Kerala engineering entrance exam. They now have a reason to celebrate together. The two have got top 10 ranks in the Kerala Engineering entrance exam.

Niaz Mon has got the third rank, while Taslim Basil is ranked seventh.

Both hail from Musliyarangadi in Malappuram and their homes are separated by less than a kilometre. The two were together for the engineering entrance training at Pala Brilliant.

The aim of both friends is to get into IIT.

Both Niaz and Taslim completed their high school from PPM Higher Secondary School in Kottukkara. Niaz Mon studied in the Malayalam medium, while Taslim Basil was in the English medium. 

For higher secondary education, Niaz Mon shifted to HMS HS School in Thurakkal, Manjeri. Along with his studies, he went for training for medical entrance at the Manjeri Science Institute. He had, in fact, got admission to the MBBS course at the Manjeri Medical College after clearing the medical entrance. He did not join the course as his passion lay in engineering. 

The son of Thayil Jamaluddin, a high school teacher at Kottukkara PPMHSS, and Hafzat, Niaz Mon got A+ in all the subjects in both Class 10 and higher secondary.

His brother Faris Mohammad has completed MBBS from Karnataka. Another brother Fawaz is a fourth-year student at NIT, Kozhikode. Niaz’s goal is to do higher education in an IIT.

Taslim Basil, who secured the seventh rank in the engineering entrance test, wants to pursue higher studies in IIT. He is the son of Nanakal Abdul Jalil, an assistant professor at the Govt College of Engineering at Westhill in Kozhikode, and Sarfunnisa, a teacher at the Arimbra GVHSS.

He completed his SSLC and higher secondary education at the Kottukkara PPM Higher Secondary School, scoring A+ in all the subjects in high school and higher secondary. 

One of his sisters Tanveer Jahan is a BEd student and the other sister Tasneem Jahan is a student of Plus Two.

3 of top 10 rank-holders from Malappuram

Three of the top 10 ranks in the Kerala engineering and pharmacy entrance tests have been secured by students from the Malappuram district.

Niaz Mon has got the third rank in the engineering entrance test. The seventh rank went to N Taslim Basil of Musliyarangadi and the ninth rank was secured by U Muhammad Nihad of Kuttoli, Valillapuzha.

The district secured 18 places in the top 100 ranks in the engineering entrance test. Thiruvananthapuram had 21 students in the top 100, while Kottayam had 19.    

Mohammad Nihad of Areekode achieved the ninth rank in the engineering entrance by making the most of the lockdown during COVID for studies. He is now preparing for the toughest engineering entrance exam in India, the JEE, for admission to the IITs.

Nihad completed his school education at Silver Hills Higher Secondary School in Kozhikode, securing A+ in both SSLC and Plus Two. This year, he surpassed the 636th rank he had achieved last time through the repeat exam. His parents are U Sharif, assistant executive engineer of Areekode block, and Dr P Firoza of Kottaparambu Hospital in  Kozhikode. Minal Ahmed is his brother.