Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email I’m sure the title attracts you. Who is this Saravanan? I saw the interview with him on TV3 yesterday night. Then was really touched on seeing him talk. We could feel his spirit and enthuasism bursting through. He mentioned with difficulty that he plans to further his education in IT. He got a fairly excellent result – 2A and 3Bs. So, what’s the big deal?
Well, his results can put many others to shame considering that he came from a difficult background and be a spastic cerebral palsy person. This STPM top scorer was a Paralympic football player two years.
I hope he will be a role model for the rest of the students.
Disability not a hindrance to academic success
KUALA LUMPUR: Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) top scorer and 2006 Paralympic football player S. Saravanan would not have made it so far if not for caring Malaysians.
He was abandoned by his parents at age seven when they discovered he had spastic cerebral palsy. But a caring sundry shop owner in Kulim, his hometown, took in the then Year Two pupil and saw him through his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
After his SPM (he obtained credits for all his subjects) Saravanan, who has since lost contact with his parents, was unable to continue his studies due to lack of money and moved out to stay with a friend. In the course of job-hunting, he called at a bakery and the owner referred him to Kamakshi Child Home in Kulim, which offered him a place and a chance to continue his studies.
Yesterday, Saravanan repaid all the kindness shown to him by scoring 2As and 3Bs to emerge the top special student in the spastic category. The former SMK Chio Min student, who is unable to speak clearly, wrote that he was grateful to sundry shop owner Logambal, his school principal and teachers, Kamakshi programme director Dr N. Iyngkaran, and his friends for all their help.
Saravanan, who took General Paper, Bahasa Malaysia, History, Economics and Business Studies, added that he studied around five to six hours every day before the exams.
Fellow special top scorer Noor Izati Meor Samsudin, who is blind, used to think her disability was a barrier to her success. “Then I realised that I had to work harder and persevere,” said the former SMK St John, Kuala Lumpur, student, who was also among the country’s top scorers in the special education category for the 2005 SPM exams.
She attributed her success to the assistance of her sighted classmates, siblings and International Islamic University volunteers who read to her and recorded her study material. “My ambition is to become a lawyer or a newsreader. I hope to continue my studies at University Malaya in Islamic Studies.”
Muhammad Marwan Mohd Tanos from Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, Johor Baru, was named the top STPM student in the visually impaired category. Scoring three As and a B, the aspiring teacher studied consistently for around three hours every day.
congrats saravanan!
u made indians proud
hai.. i nid help. im doing stpm nw. i nid guide 2 help me hw 2 study? cz ma family nobody takes stpm.. plz help me
Hi,
Studying for STPM is not easy, requires lot of hard work. I suggest you start with the basic steps, just like in SPM level:
1. set up a timetable for studying and follow it.
2. talk to your school teachers on the subjects you are taking, regardless if the subject is easy or hard. make sure you meet your teachers from time to time. do proper arrangement and ask them when can meet them to ask about certain topic etc.
3. build study groups with classmates. inquire where they tuition, in case you need extra coaching.
4. surf the net for pass year papers, tutorials etc.
5. be focused in school and class.
6. be strict at home, and don’t simply follow family every where for holidays, weddings, dinners, death etc.
7. but that doesn’t mean study 24 hours, you also have time for hobby or sports or entertainment. importance is balance.