Despite grappling with dark, their passion takes them forward

Visakhapatnam: They were on cloud nine, literally. After coming out in flying colours in Class X, the girls at the Government Residential School for Visually Challenged Girls took the plunge to celebrate their success.

Four girls who appeared for SSC examinations from the institution located at Yendada secured top grades, while two others scored second class, recording 100 per cent pass. Their hard work and single-minded dedication paved the way for the desired outcome. Sharing her dream with The Hans India, Pyla Neeraja says, "My parents want me to become a teacher. But I like to be an advocate. Being congenitally blind, my mother opines that pursuing Law would be quite difficult for me. But I would like to give it a try."

A total of six girls appeared for the Class X examinations in 2021-22. According to Principal of the school M Maheswara Reddy, the next academic year too will see six girls appearing for the SSC. "Like every year, the girls make a mark and ensure that they step forward setting their own goals," he says.

So far, 238 girls from the institution have passed Class X since 1996-97. While there were 11 girls in 2019-20, the following academic year saw nine girls studying SSC. Scoring 310 out of 500 marks, K Venkatalahari, another student from the school, who lost her vision ever since she was born, says, "I want to pursue Intermediate at Chinna Jeeyar Swamy College in Hyderabad. I am fond of Social Sciences.

For us the total score for Class X is 500 instead of 600 as we could opt out of Hindi."

Although they were visually-impaired, they did not lose vision to realise their dreams despite the impediment.

"Yes, life is certainly not easy for us as we go through untold misery in our day-to-day life but the darkness we experience,

however, will not dim our passion to excel in our studies," confide B Sri Lakshmi, A Bhavani, S Kamala and B Eswaramma with a tinge of pride. They express gratitude to their teachers for helping them emerge victorious in Class X.