LUCKNOW In 2014, the doors of education seemed shut for Sarah Moin, then aged 6 years, as many city schools refused her admission following severe vision and hearing loss. Fast forward to 2026, the Nazarbagh resident has written her own destiny, scoring a staggering 98.7% in the ISC Class 12 board examinations and emerging as the topper of Christ Church College.
Sarah’s scorecard features a perfect 100 in both Geography and Mass Media Communication, accompanied by stellar marks of 98 in English, 97 in History, and 96 in Psychology.
Her journey to academic excellence, however, was paved with immense hardship. Born a healthy child with normal sight and hearing, Sarah’s life took a tragic turn at the age of four when she developed a gland on her neck.
“For her treatment, we took her to many health facilities. High dosages of steroids were injected to treat her gland. When the treatment got over, she started facing vision, hearing and speech issues,” recalled her father, Moin Ahmad, who took voluntary retirement from BSNL to focus on her well-being. Her mother, Julee Ahmad, works as a private school teacher.
As her condition worsened, Sarah struggled to cope with her studies at a school in Hussainganj. “We often had to go to different places for her treatment, including Hyderabad. She was not able to cope, and the child had to be withdrawn,” her father added.
{{/usCountry}}As her condition worsened, Sarah struggled to cope with her studies at a school in Hussainganj. “We often had to go to different places for her treatment, including Hyderabad. She was not able to cope, and the child had to be withdrawn,” her father added.
{{/usCountry}}The turning point in Sarah’s life arrived when Christ Church College took a proactive step towards inclusive education. The school opened a separate section specifically for special-needs children. “They hired a special educator who worked hard with many of these children,” said a grateful Ahmad.
Now, with her school years behind her, Sarah, 18, has set her sights on the future. She aspires to complete her graduation from a reputed institution before taking on the highly competitive UPSC Civil Services Examination, with the ultimate dream of serving the nation as an IAS officer.
Salman Ali Qazi, a special educator at Christ Church College, who is teaching since 2014, said: “Sara wrote her exam with the help of a refreshable Braille display that is connected with a laptop keyboard. This is anelectro-mechanical device for displaying Braille characters, usually by raising round-tipped pins through holes on a flat surface.”
“The council had sent the question paper in word file, which the device converted into Braille dots. Once she completed writing, a normal printout her answers was taken out in pdf format and that was sent to the council for evaluation. This year, two such children appeared for Class 12 exams. One was Sarah and another Abhinandan who scored 72%,” said Rakesh Chattree, president of the school.
“At Christ Church College, a special educator worked hard with special children. We hope she gets admission to a reputed degree college and prepares for the civil services exam. I wish her luck,” said EA Chattree, principal of the school.