GHAZIABAD:
Sanya Gandhi was hailed by classmates and teachers at
Uttam School for Girls on Wednesday for her outstanding performance in CBSE Class X results. She emerged an all-India topper in the Class X exams in persons with disability category (PwD) scoring a whopping 489 out of 500 marks.
Sanya was born with a rare optical nerve disorder which rendered her completely blind. According to Anil Gandhi, Sanya’s father, “As parents, it was tough accepting she was blind but eventually we did. We visited country’s leading ophthalmologists but were told that there was no remedy. But when she grew up, she quickly came to terms with her disability. Apart from studies, she honed her skills in singing, and as they say, rest is history.”
She scored 99 marks in English, 97 in Hindi, 95 in maths, 98 in science and a perfect 100 in social science. Speaking to TOI, Sanya said:“It was maths which troubles me a lot since I am not good in numbers. However, I am very happy that I did reasonably good in the subject. As for other subjects, I took home tuitions and received cooperation from my teachers in the school which helped me do good in exams.”
Spelling out her strategy which she employed while preparing for exams, Sanya said: “I set small and achievable targets which helped me gain confidence. I assessed my progress by taking tests from question banks.” An accomplished singer, Sanya wants to be an IAS officer. She is planning to opt for political science. “Yes, I am a reasonably good singer and recently I had performed at the ‘garbage festival’ held in Ghaziabad,” said Sanya.
Technology came handy for Sanya in her determination to excel in exams despite her physical limitations. “She is well versed in the JAWS (Job Access With Speech) screen reader computer program that helped overcome her disability and to be independent,” said
Sarika Gandhi, her mother who is a homemaker.
Parmila Raheja, principal of Uttam School for Girls said, “She was like any other child but had tremendous determination to excel and also it was the clarity of thought that made her achieve what she has achieved. She is an inspiration and we are so proud of her.”
