Srinagar: Aakash Ashraf’s classroom for the past one and a half years was not a school building but the chemotherapy and radiotherapy wards where he battled cancer. Armed largely with self-study, the teenager from Tral has now cleared his Class 10 board examinations with an impressive 97 percent marks.
Aakash was in the middle of his Class 9 academic session when he was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2024. What he did not know at the time was that a visit to his school in the Dadsara area of Tral in June last year would turn out to be his final regular day in a classroom.
“For the past one and a half years, I have mostly been bedridden,” Aakash said. “I hardly saw my classroom after that. Instead, my days were spent moving between chemotherapy and radiotherapy wards.”
Despite the prolonged treatment and physical exhaustion, Aakash refused to give up on his studies. Without attending regular classes or taking private tuition, he prepared for the examinations on his own, often studying in short intervals whenever his health permitted.
“I always wanted to do well in my first board exams,” he said. “Most of the time, I did not even have the strength to stand. But whenever I felt a little better, I studied and tried to compete like any other student.”
His perseverance paid off when the results were declared. Aakash scored 485 marks out of 500, a performance that stands out not just for the score but for the circumstances in which it was achieved.
However, the effects of treatment continue to weigh on him. He said he remained physically weak after undergoing monthly chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions until April 2025.
“Even today, I am not strong enough to attend regular classes,” Aakash said. “But I will continue my studies. I want to take up medical subjects through offline or distance mode.”
Doctors have advised him to undergo a stem cell bone marrow transplant in the next two to three months. Before that, Aakash hopes to secure admission to Class 11, where he plans to study Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English and Physical Education.
For now, his journey from a hospital ward to a high-scoring board result stands as a testament to quiet determination in the face of serious illness. (KNO)
