Kozhikode: Muhammed Abid’s disability has come as a blessing in disguise for the government Mappila upper primary school, Velimanna. For, it was based on his request that the previous UDF government upgraded the 94-year-old lower primary school to upper primary in 2014. Now he has again requested Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to upgrade it to high school. Abid, 12, was born with a serious handicap—he has no hands. He writes with his legs and needs the help of his parents at school. He is about to clear the seventh standard this academic year and he can continue his education only if it is upgraded.
Abid visited Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with his father Muhammed Saeed on December 5 and presented their concerns to him. Earlier, Abid had written a letter to the chief minister with his legs requesting him to upgrade his school so that differently-abled children can continue their studies uninterrupted and their parents can accompany them to the school and stay with them. Mr Saeed said that the chief minister responded positively to their request.
“In 2014, when Abid was a class four student, the school was only lower primary. Then, we met the then chief minister Oommen Chandy, who listened to our plight and gave immediate directions to upgrade the school to upper primary, enabling our son to continue his studies here. We expect the same mercy from the present chief minister,” said Mr Saeed. Abid suffers from 90 percent disability and cannot go to nearby schools, that are six km away.
