Loss of vision has never been a barrier for R. Geetha, a Class X student who scored 9 Grade Points, as she says that she never lost sight of her goal.

The student of Government Residential School for Visually-Challenged (Girls) says that she aspires to become a journalist. “I want to set a trend for the visually-impaired that nothing is really impossible to achieve in life as long as you are passionate about it,” she beams. Today, Geetha is the happiest person as uncertainty over pursuing her higher studies has been sorted out.

This year, a total of 18 students who appeared for the Class X examination have passed, securing a CGPA of 6.5 and above. Soon, they will be heading to Hyderabad for higher studies (Intermediate and graduation) as Divis Laboratories Limited at Chippada village has come forward to lend a helping and bear all expenses related to education and hostel facility as part of their corporate social responsibility initiative. “Last year, only three students were able to go to Netra Vidyalaya Junior and Degree College to continue their studies. However, this time, 14 out of 18 students have already been registered for higher education. The sponsorship is taken care for the next five years,” says E.S. Nagaraju, senior executive of Divis Laboratories Ltd (CSR wing).

From seven students who appeared for Class X examination last year, the participation has gone up to 18. “The count is considered as the highest ever since the inception of the institution. It is because those who discontinued their studies earlier made a re-entry into the school which itself is a good sign,” reasons S. Nimton Babu, Principal of the school.

For K. Thulasi, who aims to study Chartered Accountancy, the opportunity of visiting a new place seems to be promising. “I was bit apprehensive of my future earlier. With a new destination beckoning, I can now be on my own, spending better part of the day constructively,” she says, adding that learning is a continuous process and the visually-impaired should not think twice before treading a new path.