‘Mom Cleared SSC After 37 Yrs’: Son Shares Brilliant Story of Grit & ‘Secret Walks’

Prasad Jambhale, a Senior Software Engineer at Mastercard, shared on LinkedIn the inspiring story of how his mother completed her Secondary School Certificate (SSC) education in 2022, 37 years after she had first started.

After having to leave her studies because of financial constraints, she recently realised the Maharashtra government allowed anyone to retake the exam by studying at night school. The cost of materials and training were all borne by the government.

“Her days started with learning all the lessons from the SSC curriculum. One day when I was back in India, she showed me her notebook and I was amazed to see how good she was in Algebra and English. She also showed me photos that how their group of people who left education are now celebrated, now that they have decided to resume,” says Jambhale in the post.

In the post, he also shares photos of her mark sheet, where she’s scored 79.60 per cent, and of the classroom.

Prasad Jambhale shared this post on his linkedin page, here. This is what the post says:

My Mother clears SSC exams after 37 yrs

So, the story goes back when my mother was of the age 16 years, her father died and the financial crisis followed, to ensure that her siblings continue their education, she had to quit the education and start working.

Now in the present, last year my mother was at a govt school where she had some work, a teacher asked her about her education and after knowing that she didn’t clear SSC she informed my mother that there’s a new govt scheme where the people who have not completed their SSC now can reappear. The cost of offline and online training, study materials all were given free of cost by government.

And then she started going back to school since last December 2021, kept it as a secret. As I stay in Ireland, I came to know about it just recently when I was about to get married before her exams. Whenever I was in Ireland and used to call during Indian night-time, I used to ask where’s mom? And I was told that she has gone for a walk, I thought that’s odd that she got interested into walks. Little did I know that she was attending night school. She even managed to keep this secret hidden for a month from my father and brother, who stay under the same roof.

Her days, started with learning all the lessons from SSC curriculum, one day when I was back in India, she showed me her notebook and I was amazed to see how good she was in Algebra and English. She also showed me photos that how their group of people who left education are now celebrated, now that they have decided to resume.

Even after so many years she was able to grasp different learning, and not just that, but was a brilliant student in her batch. And to tell you, her exams were in March and my marriage was in February she managed to do all the multitasking needed.

And now, here is the result she cleared SSC, not just with passing marks, but with a whooping 79.60%. Sometimes I feel I am so fortunate that I had no worries about anything and was able to get to the position, just because of the privilege I have. Who knows what my mother could have achieved more? If she had the same privilege as me. Have always been very proud of my mother and now this would always imprint a lesson in my mind, never stop learning, even if has to take an age of 53 to pass the SSC.

Very proud of you mother, and thanks for everything

PS: Thanks for the overwhelming response, my mother is grateful and couldn’t believe that her story is making an impact, she says thanks to everyone and encourages everyone to go forward. Also, many people asked me about the scheme, if you’re staying in Mumbai, you can go to the nearest BMC school, and ask them for the admission to night school. Unfortunately we don’t for other cities and states but I am pretty sure, there would be a night school in your nearest govt school.

#proudson #proudmoment #education

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

Found Value in This Story?Pay What You Can to Support Impactful Journalism

If you found our stories insightful, informative, or even just enjoyable, we invite you to consider making a voluntary payment to support the work we do at The Better India. Your contribution helps us continue producing quality content that educates, inspires, and drives positive change.

Choose one of the payment options below for your contribution-

₹201
₹501
₹1001

By paying for the stories you value, you directly contribute to sustaining our efforts focused on making a difference in the world. Together, let’s ensure that impactful stories continue to be told and shared, enriching lives and communities alike.

Thank you for your support. Here are some frequently asked questions you might find helpful to know why you are contributing?