He took seven O-level subjects and went on to clinch a near-perfect score of eight points before moving on to Anderson Junior College.

His 3As, plus distinction and merit for his special papers in his A-level examinations secured him a place at the National University of Singapore, where he is now in his third year pursuing a degree in mathematics.

What is special about Ze Gang is that he is visually handicapped (VH) but did all his schooling at a regular school.

The former Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School student suffers from congenital glaucoma - a hereditary condition where pressure builds up in the eye, eventually damaging the optic nerve and resulting in blindness. His condition was detected only at the age of 10.

There are now 17 VH students at his alma mater, one of four schools designated to handle such students. Ze Gang hopes they will follow in his footsteps despite the difficulties of being in a regular school.

One student hoping to emulate him is Muhammad Firdaus bin Sarifi, who will sit for his O levels later this year.

Said the 16-year-old: 'It shows that even though we are disabled, we can do as well as, or even better than our sighted peers.'

'Anything is possible,' he added with a grin.

His junior, Dickson Tan, 14, aims to clinch a perfect score of six points in his O levels later this year and hopefully secure a place at Raffles Junior College.

Another school that integrates disabled students is Admiralty Secondary. It currently has four disabled students and has trained a group of upper secondary students to assist them.

At the Society for the Physically Disabled awards presentation yesterday, Minister of State for Education Lui Tuck Yew commended these schools for providing support and stimulating environments for disabled students.

For such students, studying at a regular school requires determination and perseverance, said Ms Penny Chong, who is also visually handicapped and who joined Ahmad Ibrahim's teaching staff recently.

Study is a time-consuming and tedious process for a VH student, she said.

'In secondary school, my father had to read out the entire textbook on tape, so that I could listen to it again and again,' she said.

Things got tougher at the university as she had to cope without her father's help. She tape-recorded all her lectures and played them back, often pausing, forwarding and rewinding to get the facts right.

These students also have to cope with the demand of competing with normal-sighted peers.

Said Lim Zhu Yen, 19, the only VH student to sit for the O levels last year: 'Many a time, I cannot catch what my teacher is trying to explain.'

Then, of course, there is the bullying to deal with.

'Some of the normal students will bully you simply because you are different from them,' said Zhu Yen.

Despite these problems, VH students who have graduated from Ahmad Ibrahim have performed fairly well - scoring as low as 8 at O levels. Many have secured places at polytechnics, some at JCs, and are moving on to universities.

Those who have not done as well as they had hoped to are inspired by Ze Gang and their teacher to persevere.

Last Thursday, Zhu Yen received an L1R5 of 26 points for his recent O-level examinations. Because of his poor grade in English, he cannot proceed immediately to the polytechnic.

But he is determined to work hard and achieve his dream of going to polytechnic and then to university.

That is the kind of determination that is necessary to succeed, says Ze Gang.

'Always remember the reality of the situation - we have to fend for ourselves in the future,' he says. 'Don't you dare give up halfway.'

sameng@sph.com.sg