At 95, Bihar man goes for masters degree

He is of an age few people reach and when there are no more goals to be achieved, but 95-year-old Raj Kumar Vaishya is still keen to fulfil his dream of acquiring a post-graduation degree and is working for it with the help of his retired son and daughter-in-law. He has enrolled for a Master of Arts (MA) in economics from the Nalanda Open University (NOU).

“I am nearer to fulfilling my long cherished dream of a postgraduate degree in economics. My aim is not to get a degree; the thrust is to study and gain knowledge so as to understand the problems faced by the people and the country and to contribute something, if possible,” says Vaishya, who retired in 1980 as a general manager in a private firm in Koderma (now in Jharkhand).

He says he wished to study economics also to understand why the country had failed to solve problems of poverty, illiteracy and joblessness.

Living with his son and daughter-in-law in Rajendra Nagar colony for the last 10 years after his wife’s death, Vaishya said the academic atmosphere in the house helped him make up his mind to study further.

His son Santosh Kumar, now in his early 70s, retired from the National Institute of Technology, Patna, whereas daughter-in-law Bharti S. Kumar, in her early 60s, retired as a professor from Patna University.

“Initially, they told me studying is not an easy task at this age, but later agreed to support me in view of my commitment. My son will teach me mathematics and statistics and the daughter-in-law will pitch in with other help,” Vaishya said.

“I have decided to devote two hours daily in the morning and night hours to studies. After post-graduation, I will not pursue a <g data-gr-id="32">Ph.D</g>,” he said. 

NOU Registrar SP Sinha said it was a pleasant experience for university officials when told about Vaishya’s keenness to join the postgraduate course. “When we came to know that he can read and write fluently as well, it was decided to send a team of NOU officials to his apartment to enrol him, keeping in view his old age. We enrolled him on September 8 for the 2015-16 session and provided him with the study material in Hindi. However, he demanded the study material and books in English; we will provide these to him soon,” said Sinha.