Touching Story Amidst Lockdown, 70-Seat Boat Arranged To Help A Stranded Student Sit Her Exams

Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, schools temporarily shut and students across the world have been affected. Recently, a female student in Kottayam, Sandra Sabu made headlines because of her special case. She is a 17-year-old student from SNDP Higher Secondary School who was struggling with how to write her exams. When the dates for her HSC exams were officially announced, she knew that she might have to skip them because of the lack of transport.

The student comes from an islet in the Vembanad backwaters where is known to be usually disconnected from the cities. The residents here live at least around seven kilometers away from the boat channel.

Taking the exams seemed to be impossible for the stranded girl until SWTD – State Water Transport Department of Kerala came to support her. On two days, Friday and Saturday, a 70-seat boat was arranged to take the 17-year-old student to the school so she could write her Plus One exams.

Even though the boat had only one passenger, it still had its full crew members including a driver, a boat master, a srank (navigator), and two lascars.

On both days when her exam was taking place, the boat picked up her from a jetty located near her house at 11:30 and dropped the student at the jetty close to her school at 12 noon. The journey took around 30 minutes and they spent about one hour at two trips per day.

In an interaction with media, she said,

“I thought I would miss the examinations as I didn’t have any means to reach my schools. But then, I contacted the SWTD office and informed them of my plight. They understood my situation and promised to send a boat. I am really proud of SWTD and I don’t know how to share my happiness.”

What do you think about the story of the 17-year-old student Sandra? Let us know!