SRINAGAR: As routine “toppers’ stories” dominate headlines following the declaration of the Class 12 results in Jammu and Kashmir, a quieter yet far more profound achievement has emerged from Srinagar, one that speaks not in sound, but in resolve.
Seven hearing- and speech-impaired students from Abhedananda Home Higher Secondary School, Solina, have recorded a 100 percent success rate in the Class 12 annual examinations conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE). Their collective achievement stands out in a year when the overall pass percentage across the Union Territory stood at 84 percent.
The students have not merely passed; they have excelled. Tanzeela topped the group with 454 marks out of 500, followed closely by Abid with 453 and Seerat with 450. Mohammad Umaiq secured 434 marks, Burhan 418, Muskan 419, and Tawhida 415—an academic performance that rivals the best in the mainstream education system.
For Abhedananda Home, an institution with an 83-year legacy of working with children with disabilities, this achievement marks only the second time its Class 12 batch has attained a 100 percent result—making the moment historic for the school.
While celebrations were palpable in the families of the successful students, they were accompanied by a sobering concern about the future.
Ifrat Meraj, the younger sister of Tanzeela from Surasyar in Budgam, said the happiness at home was indescribable. “I passed my own Class 10 exam today, but the real joy in our house is because of my sister. Her success means everything to us,” she said.
Yet Ifrat voiced a fear shared by many parents and relatives of such students. “Tanzeela wants to study further. She is intelligent and motivated. But there is no college or technical institution in Jammu and Kashmir for students who are speech and hearing impaired. Given the present situation, sending her outside the country is also not an option. We are worried about what comes next.”
A similar concern was echoed by Beenish, the elder sister of Muhammad Umaiq from Pampore in Pulwama. She recalled the anxiety with which her family awaited the result gazette. “When we finally saw his name, we jumped with joy,” she said, praising the school’s hostel and academic support system.
“But after Class 12, there is a void,” Beenish added. “There are no avenues for higher education for such children here. My father struggled a lot to educate my brother. He has proved himself despite every adversity—but now, where do we go from here?”
A Policy Vacuum After Schooling
According to JKBOSE data, 70,735 candidates were declared successful out of those who appeared in the Class 12 examination this year. Yet the success of these seven students has once again drawn attention to a longstanding policy gap: the absence of higher education and vocational pathways for hearing- and speech-impaired students in Jammu and Kashmir.
Families and educators alike are calling on the government to move beyond symbolic celebration and invest in permanent institutional solutions—specialised colleges, vocational centres, and inclusive universities—so that academic excellence achieved against all odds does not end at the school gate.
For now, the seven students of Abhedananda Home have rewritten what success looks like—not loudly, but indelibly.
