In a class of 60 students, where the number of girls is twice that of boys, Kamal, a boy, ranked seventeenth from the top. If there are 9 girls ahead of Kamal, the number of boys in rank after him is:

The correct option is 12.

Let's break down the solution step-by-step to understand why this is the correct answer:

Step 1: Calculate the total number of boys and girls in the class
Let the number of boys be $x$.
Since the number of girls is twice the number of boys, the number of girls is $2x$.
The total number of students in the class is 60. Therefore, we can write the equation:
$x+2x=60$
$3x=60$
$x=20$
So, the number of boys in the class is 20, and the number of girls is:
$2\times 20=40$.

Step 2: Analyze Kamal's position
Kamal is ranked 17^th from the top.
This means there are exactly 16 students ranked ahead of Kamal.

Step 3: Determine the gender distribution of students ahead of Kamal
We are given that there are 9 girls ahead of Kamal.
Since there are 16 students in total ahead of Kamal, the number of boys ahead of Kamal is:
$16-9=7$ boys.

Step 4: Calculate the number of boys ranked after Kamal
The total number of boys in the class is 20.
These 20 boys are distributed as follows:
1. Boys ranked ahead of Kamal: 7 boys
2. Kamal himself: 1 boy (since Kamal is a boy)
3. Boys ranked after Kamal: Let this be $y$.
Therefore, the total number of boys is:
$7+1+y=20$
$8+y=20$
$y=20-8=12$.
Thus, the number of boys ranked after Kamal is 12.