Visually-Impaired Delhi Teacher Ranks 48th in the UPSC Exams

Ayushi, a history teacher at a Delhi government school, finished 48th in the Civil Services Examination 2021, the results of which were released by the Union Public Service Commission on Monday.

The 29-year-old teacher, who has been blind since birth, has not allowed her disability to hold her back. The Rani Khera resident passed the prestigious exam on her fifth attempt while working as a teacher and studying for the exam.

Ayushi acknowledged her delight, adding that while she was certain of passing the exam, attaining a rank below 50 was a pleasant surprise.

She received her schooling at a private school in her hamlet of Rani Khera before graduating from Delhi University’s Shyama Prasad Mukherji College. She later earned a master’s degree in history from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). She hails from a normal family. Growing up, all she wanted to do was get a job. In 2016, she began preparing for the exam with the help of her mother.

Ayushi attributes her success to her mother, a former senior nursing officer who is now a homemaker. Ayushi’s father works for a private company in Punjab, while her spouse is studying for an MBA in Australia.

Ayushi has been a teacher for ten years, starting as a contractual primary school teacher at a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school in 2019 after clearing the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) test. She is now a history teacher at Mubarakpur Dabas’ Government Girls Senior Secondary School No. 2 for students in classes 11 and 12.

Ayushi’s phone hasn’t stopped vibrating since the results were revealed. Her friends and family have been congratulating her since yesterday. She has put in a lot of effort to teach my students as a blind teacher.

She intends to join the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in either the DANICS or the Haryana cadres. She plans to work in education, specifically with females and persons with disabilities.