G.V. Oviya, a visually challenged student of Yuvabharathi Public School in Somayampalayam, Coimbatore, is the first student from Tamil Nadu to have used a laptop with a screen reading software for writing the CBSE Class XII board exams.
She scored 91.4% (457/500). This is not the first time Oviya has done this. She was in the news two years ago for being the only person to have written the exams online using a screen reader when she was in Class X.
She now wants to pursue a Bachelors degree in Commerce, and has applied for the same in colleges in Chennai and Coimbatore. “I want to write the civil services exam,” she said. Her father A. Vijayaraj and mother M. Gokila said the school gave special attention to her and even provided an attender to help her on campus.
Like Oviya, Angelin Lipika E.J. from The Packianath Public School, Kanniyakumari, has cleared her CBSE Class X exams, scoring 371/500. Her father T.K. Edwin Jose said Lipika lost her vision when she was one-and-a-half years old. In 2019, she was taken to Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, where she was provided training in typing and screen reading. “When we were at the hospital, we heard about Oviya and immediately connected [with her] to understand how she wrote the exams two years ago. Lipika’s school was also very supportive,” Mr. Jose said.
Currently, Lipika is learning to work on Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. She intends to choose the Commerce group in Class XI.
The fathers of both the girls said the government should encourage and help more visually challenged students to take exams online at the school and college level. “With digital India we should encourage such children to take exams online by themselves without the help of scribes. This will also enhance their skills,” Mr. Vijayaraj said.
