Two blind students graduate with distinction

Two blind students graduate with distinction

Nida.Sayed@timesgroup.com

Panaji:11.11.2021

Sumera Khan, 23, from Margao was born with blindness, but ask her to travel to Santa Cruz for her sessions at the National Association of the Blind (NAB) and she can do so seamlessly using public transport, with only her white cane as support.

The expertise in braille and determination to excel in academics motivated her to score 87% in distinction in graduation, the results of which were announced last week. Dethroning the long lineage of sighted students that came before her, Khan is the topper in her batch, this year.

“It was challenging when we shifted to online classes due to the pandemic. However, once I was able to adjust to the medium, there was no looking back and I was able to complete my studies,” Khan said.

She is now aiming for IAS preparation so that she can uplift people from the underprivileged and rural areas.

“I want to ensure that others get the same opportunities that I did,” she said.

Saish Salkar, 23, a visually impaired student from Old Goa, also graduated with 80% in his graduation course. He is now pursuing a masters degree in English literature at Goa University.

“Shifting to virtual examinations was the toughest challenge since verbally saying our answers on Google Meet was something we had never been exposed to. However, I was determined to excel since I want to further prepare for UPSC,” he said.

The duo’s achievement has made their teachers at NAB extremely proud. Theirs is not just yet another success story to come from the institute, but also an achievement wherein the students have performed against their sighted counterparts in a regular college, instead of a special one.

“They cannot come out of schools as leaders if they do not learn to be a part of regular society early on. We, therefore, follow an integrated regulated programme as part of which students can go to regular schools instead of special schools. Here, the students compete with the sighted students and emerge as successful while overcoming all challenges,” said NAB president Rozendo Mendonsa.

Sumera Khan (left) and Saish Salkar now aim to clear the UPSC exam and become IAS officers