Blind student fights odds to ace SSLC

Shrinivasa.M
Mysuru: Her SSLC scorecard reads 122, 91, 91, 98, 92, and 94. She cleared the examination with 94.08% (distinction). What has made her marks more special is she is a visually impaired student who also lost her mother Shivamma, a daily wage labourer in September 2021. Her father passed away long back and she was taken care of by her mother. Amid the grief and other challenges, she excelled in SSLC examination.
This is the story of Sandhya, a resident of Mahadevanagar in Nanjangud, and a student at Ranga Rao Memorial School for Differently Abled (RMSD) in Mysuru. “My dream is to become an IAS officer,” she told TOI. She is presently being taken care of by her sister’s family who also depends upon meagre earnings.
“I worked hard to score these marks. I thank all my teachers for supporting me. I will pursue higher education,” she said.
“She is a bright student, and ambitious,” said school principal N Satasheela.
Other performers
Sandhya’s classmate, Ashwini GM scored 590 marks (94.4%). A resident of Gulipura in Chamarajanagar, she is planning to pursue higher education in computer science.
Sayyed Aleem, an inmate of the Government Children’s Home for boys secured 515 marks. “He has been an orphan since his childhood days. He has been under our care since his early education. He is from Mandya. He studied as a regular student at government high school in Bogadi” said Abhi Kumar, superintendent of the home. “He was a very good boy. He was studying well for the examination. He has a commitment to pursue a good education. He wanted to join any job-oriented professional course,” he added.
Out of the seven inmates of the Government Children’s Home for girls in the city who appeared for the examination, four cleared with flying colours. One student has scored 480 marks. “These students want to pursue higher education in commerce and humanities. We will facilitate them for higher studies,” said superintendent Sharada Devi.
Eaktha MG, a student of Adarsha Vidyalaya (RMSA), MG. Road, Jockey Quarters has scored 625 out of 625. She is the only student from a government high school in the district who has achieved this feat.
Daughter of Ganapati MC and Gangamma MS, residents of Siddarthanagar, Eaktha said she will pursue engineering in future. “I was expecting these marks. I was balancing my studies and other activities,” she said.
School headmaster Satish DM said Eaktha was an all-rounder. “She was active in all activities,” he said.