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Eyes on goal, visually-impaired teenager gets govt honour

Class XI student wants to become an IAS officer

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Veerendra Sharma
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Triumphing over his disability, Veerendra Sharma, a visually impaired student, has become one of the many students felicitated by the Delhi government for their outstanding performance in Class X and XII.

Sharma, a native of Allahabad and a student at the Shaheed Hemu Kalani Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Delhi, has bagged the Excellence Award for getting 8.4 CGPA in Class X.

Struck by a deadly brain fever that led to complete loss of sight while he was still a toddler, Sharma never let his disability come in the way of his plans.

"My parents say I was able to see till I turned two, after which I contracted the fever. They tried every possible treatment but then the doctors gave up hope," Sharma said, adding that his parents were even ready to donate their own eyes for him.

After preliminary education in a normal school, the child prodigy was shifted to a blind school at the age of nine, where he learnt Braille and even received awards for his writings in the script. He was then sent to his present school in Lajpat Nagar, where he was promoted to Class IX.

"Under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, I was sent to a normal school in Class IX. But then my problems started as I found it difficult to adapt to the new surroundings. The major issue was the distance from the hostel to the school. We had to walk a certain distance and then take a bus. Some people were co-operative but others did nothing to help. Often, I would board a wrong bus and get waylaid," he said.

The second hurdle was the attitude of fellow students and even teachers. "Many students made fun of me and my friends. Also, I did not get hindi, political science, and geography books from the centre till the time of my exams," he added.

Narrating another such incident, Sharma said: "During the self-assessment exams in Class X, my writer said I was making him write long answers. Then he made an excuse of needing to drink water, left the room, and never returned."

Despite all these odds, Sharma came out with flying colours in his board exams. Now in Class XI, he wants to become an Indian Administrative Officer.

He attributed his success to the school administration. "The principal helped me a lot and placed regular requests for books in Braille, specially designed for us. The resource teachers helped me understand the lessons," he said.

All is well that ends well. Sharma has now achieved the rare feat of being one of the 213 students to receive the Excellence Award.

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