Sight, speech, hearing impaired 32-year-old woman makes history by clearing MP Class X Board exams

Thirty-two-year-old Gurdeep Kaur Vasu has become the first sight, speech and hearing impaired person to clear the Class X exams conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, results of which were declared on Thursday, an official said.

She passed in the second division after garnering 223 out of 400 marks, with special merit in painting, Indore District Education Officer (DEO) Mangesh Kumar Vyas told PTI. "Vasu had applied as a private candidate. The is the first case in the history of the state's Board of Secondary Education when a candidate who cannot speak, hear and see has passed the high school certificate examination," Vyas said.

"Considering Gurdeep's special status, she was provided with a writing assistant with knowledge of sign language as per rules of the Board of Secondary Education," he added.

Monika Purohit, sign language expert and director of Anand Service Society, an NGO working for the disabled in the city, which helped Vasu prepare for the exam, hailed the achievement.

"The amazing thing is that the woman writer who helped Gurdeep in writing the answers was also deaf and mute. This is the first case of its kind in central India. Gurdeep and the woman writer communicated by pressing hands and fingers as per sign language," Purohit said.

Gurdeep, speaking to PTI in sign language, said she was very happy with the results and planned to study further. She informed she had offered prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar a few days ago.