Lucknow :

It was a moment of pride for scores of students who, despite odds, went on to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the third convocation of Dr Shakunatala Misra National Rehabilitation University (DSMNRU) organised on Monday.

Mohd Akram, who is blind, won four gold and two bronze medals, highest in the university. Among the medals that landed in Akram’s kitty are Gold medal for overall performance; Chancellor’s Gold medal, awarded to the highest scorer in all faculties; Vice-Chancellor’s Gold medal, which is awarded to the highest scorer in MA and Mulayam Singh Yadav Gold medal, awarded to the highest scorer in political science in post graduation. Akram also bagged two bronze medals for scoring highest in the respective faculty.

Akram, who is inspired from French educator Louis Braille, said, “I want to be a professor and introduce a new system of learning for differently-abled students. Braille is my best friend as it has helped me achieve academic excellence.”

Bikray Upadhyay, who is also physically handicapped, bagged a silver medal in MA Hindi. “Students like me should get an equal opportunity for pursuing higher education.

I want to become a professor so that I can spread the light of learning.” Another disabled student Janardhan, who won gold in BA, dreams of becoming a teacher. “I want to pursue PhD and teach at Shakuntala Misra University so that I can help students achieve their dreams,” said Janardhan.

Yasmeen Bano, daughter of a tailor, had to work day in and day out to meet her expenses. Apart from regular studies, Bano would teach students to support her father. ” I often felt the need to drop out of college due to financial constraints but by God’s grace I successfully completed graduation,” added Bano, who won silver medal in MA.

Son of a farmer, Yashpal Singh, who was awarded a bronze medal for MA Hindi, said, “In my village in Sitapur, there is a dearth of colleges. It’s my dream to set up a degree college some day.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / by Mohita Tewari / TNN / April 25th, 2017