For the 33rd consecutive year, the students of Red Cross School for the Blind in Berhampur of Odisha have achieved cent per cent pass result in Class X board examination conducted by the Odisha Board of Secondary Education.
Seventeen students, including five girls, of this school had appeared for the Class X board examination this year. According to the school principal Nabin Chandra Satpathy, 10 of these students secured B1 grade (70%-80%) and seven got B2 grade (60%-70%). “For these visually-impaired students who have to toil more than general students these grades are quite impressive and these students would surely excel in their future academic career,” said Mr Satpathy.
Both the teachers and the students of this school make joint efforts for preparation for the board examination. Usually other schools have classes of Class X suspended for two months before the board examination to provide time to students to study at home. As it is hard for a visually-impaired student to prepare for this first major examination of life alone at home, the authorities keep them in school hostel for a planned preparation with active support of teachers and experts from outside in case of need. The main aim is to keep their enthusiasm and confidence alive. This year, a two-day workshop had been organised on the campus to enable students to use music and meditation as means of relaxation, said the principal.
These special students appear for their board examination through writers to whom they have to dictate the answers. Till Class VIII they write the examinations in Braille language. From Class IX onwards, these students are given a writer helper from a lower class.
The Red Cross School for the Blind located at Ambapua area of Berhampur was inaugurated in 1974 by former President of India V. V. Giri. It had started with just four students but now has around 150. Its first batch of students had appeared for Class X board examination in 1983 and since then this school is achieving cent per cent pass result. This school has also been felicitated by the Chief Minister in the past for its continuing excellence in education.
