Patna: Where there is a will, there is a way.
This maxim proves true for a teenage girl from Bihar who is writing answers with her feet at the ongoing class 10 examinations being conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).
Ankita Kumari, resident of Baniapur village in Saran district, is physically-challenged, unable to move her hands properly or to speak.
Yet, these challenges haven’t stopped her from showing up at the exam centre and joining her peers taking exams.
Kumari is accompanied by her grandmother to the centre, where she sits on a carpet and uses her toes to grip her pen and write the answers. She is taking the exam at the Gandhi High School exam centre in the town.
Invigilators have also complimented her writing.
“Her future is very bright and she will get a good job one day,” predicted invigilator Rupa Kumari.
According to family members, Ankita Kumari contracted polio when she was five years old. The virus left her with disabled arms and unable to speak.
However, refusing to be bogged down by the affliction, the earnest student attended school and continued to study.
As per an official report, more than 1.76 million students are appearing for the class 10 examinations this year at 1,532 centres across the state. Among the students appearing for the papers, 866,225 are girls. The examinations began last week.
Authorities have beefed up security at all the exam centres, learning from a past incident that saw parents clambering up walls to help children cheat.
This time the authorities are carrying out extensive physical searches of the students before letting them enter the exam centres. CCTV cameras have also been installed there to keep a watch on the activities of the students. BSEB chairman Anand Kishore has also been making surprise visits of the exam centres to check on students.
