A 17-year-old visually challenged girl from Neyveli has aced the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 exams scoring 89.4% without the help of a scribe.
G.V. Oviya wrote her exams with the help of technology on a laptop, a first of its kind in CBSE Tamil Nadu.
When Oviya was 4, doctors told the family that she would slowly start losing her vision. She had retinitis pigmentosa. Her parents started looking at options for giving her the best education.
“When she was in Class 3 her vision started deteriorating and that’s when we installed a screen reader software and started training her. We simultaneously taught her how to use her fingers on the keyboard. She learnt it quickly and that’s when we realised that she could do well without a scribe,” said Oviya's father A. Vijayaraj.
Oviya, who is a student of Jawahar Higher Secondary School, Neyveli, used nonvisual desktop access (NVDA) and job access with speech (JAWS). Mathematics and Tamil were challenging for her but Mr. Vijayaraj taught her maths during weekends, while her mother M. Gokila helped her with Tamil.
“I used to record all her Tamil notes and give it to her for listening,” her mother said. Along with her laptop, Oviya used to carry tactile books to school. “To learn geometry, she used objects like matchstick, bangles, thread and had access to tactile protectors and triangles. While teaching maps, we used thread,” her father said.
Oviya has now opted for Commerce group and she intends to prepare for civil services. She said, “Writing this exam was quite easy for me and I’m happy about my marks. I want to become a Collector some day and ensure that disabled children are given quality education.” “Visually challenged students should adopt technology for studying,” she added.
Apart from studies, she is a passionate orator and enjoys giving speeches and participating in elocution.
