Parbat Makwana

Junagadh

Congress

Gyanbharti School

Panchal

For 70-year-old, age was no consideration when he decided to sit for his class 10 examination, 55 years after he stopped studying. Father of seven, Makwana wants to study at this age to be able to serve the people of his village well. A native of, Makwana runs a students’ hostel and currently is vice-president of districtin Junagadh. According to the septuagenarian, “Over the years, the study material has changed drastically.It is indeed a challenge to start studying after more than 50 years, but it also feels good to be able to stand at par with my family members.” Makwana’s inspiration to appear for the board exams is his 101-year-old mother. “Even though she is illiterate she has knowledge of everything, even more than an educated person might have,” he said. Father of three sons and four daughters believes that there is nothing more important than education. All of them are married except one son. His three sons have MA, BEd; BA, Bed; LLB and MSW degrees respectively, while his daughters have cleared SSC.Makwana’s favourite subject is Sanskrit as he finds it easy and the subject he dislikes is mathematics. The 70-year-old who is appearing for his boards fromin Junagadh said, “Despite a tight schedule, I made sure to dedicate two hours to study every day. And I did not feel the need to take up coaching despite taking up studies after so many years. Actually, I run a students’ hostel and they showed me the syllabus for class 10. For math exam, students of the hostel taught me sums till 3 am. And I have to live up to their teaching.”He thinks quality of education in current scenario has deteriorated drastically which was not the case earlier. “Emphasis should be more on quality of education as students don’t even remember what they have been taught.”BS, exam secretary for Class 10 of Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, said, “This sets a great example that there is no age to learning something new, it is just that the person has to be willing to take up challenges. He has also set an example for the youngsters who leave studies half way.”