Hearing-impaired Kerala boy fought odds to become CBSE Class 10 topper in special category

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‘In lower-primary classes, I would tell my teachers about the condition so they would speak loudly. I would always sit on the front bench too. But after that, I stopped telling the teachers. I would use their lip movement to understand things,” said Dilwin, a student of the Devamatha CMI Public School in Thrissur where he has been enrolled since the first grade.

“Last year, a teacher recommended that I apply for the CWSN category because it would help me in my career in future,” he added.

Video | Meet CBSE Class 10 topper

His father Prince, who works in medicine distribution in Thrissur, said he was very happy with his son’s achievements despite the disability. “He had a hearing problem, but he was always able to control it and move on. He would always clear all his doubts with the teachers in the classroom itself so that there’s little room for ambiguity,” Prince said.

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Dilwin, who stood seventh in the general category nationally, scored full marks in Information Technology (IT) and Social Science, 99 in English and Science, 98 in Maths and 97 in Malayalam. He said while he did not push too much by studying long hours, but made sure to dedicate all his concentration when he did. He loves to paint, especially pencil-drawing, and make craft projects using waste materials. He also has a habit of reading the newspaper every-day, especially the sports pages.

He plans to take biology-mathematics module for Class 11-12 and opt for an engineering course later, preferably at the NIT.