Maharashtra Fellowship for Deaf boasts of 100% pass in SSC

The Maharashtra Fellowship for Deaf can boast of a 100 per cent passing percentage for all three years that their students have appeared for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam.

Moreover, this year, of the 25 students who appeared for the SSC exam, 23 passed with first class. 

The Fellowship was started in 1987 by Tara and Arvind Meshramkar with the vision of Lillian Doerksen, a renowned social worker. There are 14 staff members and 3 helpers. All the teachers of the Fellowship have a BEd in special education.

The institute initially offered vocational training to hearing impaired students and they would appear for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) examination.

The Fellowship opted for the SSC board only three years ago, where the students appear for the SSC examination through the external system.

The students are also taught many vocational training subjects such as electric wiring, computers, tailoring and parlour courses after the SSC exam. “Our students are very creative and do very well in the ‘batik-making’ course,” said Swaroopa Joshi, the Marathi and batik teacher.

The Fellowship has organised Kathak classes for girls and stress management sessions for all the children. The students also play volleyball, football and cricket in addition to their regular academic curriculum.

“Our students are very competitive. They are involved in several activities throughout the day,” said Sarika Ranpise, a teacher who has been teaching hearing impaired children for the past seven years. The Fellowship has a placement cell, known as ‘Marg’, through which several students are placed each year.