Edu min lauds boy for writing exam with toes

Mangaluru: A boy’s feat in writing the ongoing SSLC exams with his lower limbs has drawn the attention of primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar.
Kaushik Acharya, a student of SVS High School in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, is writing the exams with his feet, braving the disability. Born with no hands, Kaushik wrote the Kannada paper using toes on Thursday. After coming to know of Kaushik’s grit, the minister shared on social media his pic of writing the exam.
“I appreciate Kaushik, a student of SVS High School of Bantwal taluk, who has written the exam without anyone’s help, and with his toes. Such persons make life meaningful. They represent the humanitarian values of society,” Kumar wrote on his Facebook page and the twitter handle. The photo shows the boy writing the paper on a floormat at the exam centre in SVS High School.
Kaushik is the son of Rajesh Acharya and Jalajakshi Acharya, residents of Bastipadpu village in the taluk. He was physically challenged by birth. However, the talented student has, over the years, exhibited his skills in drawing, painting, clay-modelling, sculpture, dance, yoga, swimming, cricket and other co-curricular activities. His major pastime includes creating wooden sculptures, decorative wall hangings and making crafts. All this he does using only toes as he has no arms (his left arm has only a few inches of growth). The disability notwithstanding, he plays volleyball, cricket and even pedals a cycle too.
TOI, in its columns on January 2018, had highlighted the talents of the then 13-year-old multifaceted boy.
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