Setting an example of resilience and perseverance, eight visually impaired students cleared the Odisha civil services examination. These students are amongst the 670 candidates that have been shortlisted for the merit list of the Odisha civil services examination.
One of these eight students is Sannyas Behera. After being rejected by every government office where he applied, he topped the list of visually challenged candidates.
Another of these students is Sukanti Dash, who couldn’t bag a job despite being a post graduate in history. Sukanti proved her mettle by clearing one of the toughest exams in the country.
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Dash informed that he prepared for the exams with the help of audio books and a talking software. He added that he had to memorize everything after listening.
Daughter of a Koratpur based driver, Sasmita Kumari Jena also cleared the exam despite all challenges of being visually impaired. The 23-year-old student said that it was her first attempt for the exam. Even Jena had to rely on audio books as she has only 30% visibility and cannot read for more than a few hours.
The Odisha Public Service Commission opened its gates for visually impaired applicants from 2015 after the ruling of Odisha HC. Eight visually impaired candidates made it to the final list of the state’s Civil Services Examination 2016.
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These candidates have fought all odds to get through the exam and will now be recruited as Class-I officials within the state.