Examinees with learning disabilities clear board tests, encouraged to study further

Three students from a school cleared their board examinations this year — a feat because all three had once been forced to drop out of mainstream schools because of their “learning disabilities”.

Two of them passed Class XII and one Class X from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).

The school, Star Mission Academy, in Lake Gardens, has been sending students for board exams since 2017, not hundreds but a handful every year.

The school tries to put these children back into the mainstream by instilling confidence in them and their parents.

Ishan Kochar cleared Class XII with 63 per cent.

The 18-year-old had dropped out of a mainstream school when he was in Class VIII. “He got back his identity in his current school,” his mother Meena Kochar said.

“In his former school, he was lacking in confidence and he was developing a feeling of inferiority among the other students. He is a slow learner but he has been able to cope well here,” said Kochar.

People were sympathetic towards him but he did not have friends. “Here, he enjoyed going to school and looked forward to it,” she said.

Ishan is set to take admission in college and start his undergraduate studies.

The other Class XII student, Saba Hossain, cleared the exam with 70.5 per cent.

Her score has reinstated both her and her mother’s belief in continuing her education.

“I had thought that she would study till Class XII and no more. But she wants to study further and I am encouraged to put her in college after her result,” said her mother.

The third student cleared his Class X exams.

To make it easier for the students, the school encourages them to divide up their papers instead of appearing for all of them in one go.

“The syllabus is extensive and retention is difficult for our students. They can appear twice a year rather than appear for all subjects in one go. Accommodations like these help them to achieve results,” said Anindita Chatterjee, a psychologist and director, Star Mission Academy.

This year, there were others who appeared in some papers and they will appear for the rest in October, she said.

The school has students with intellectual disability, autism, mild cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“Our objective is to train students who drop out and try to bring them back into the mainstream rather than letting them give up midway,” said Chatterjee.

“There are students who come to us who could not cope in a mainstream school. Some of them were bullied,” she said.

Some parents come to Star Mission Academy after making their children go to two or three schools where they were unable to cope.

These children have to be taught in a manner that suits them. “We have to figure out how they would be able to learn. If we do that, we can achieve success,” said Chatterjee.