Teacher, mom of 2: Meet ex-DU students giving exams a second chance

 

Homemakers, professionals, and men who had to support their families back during their college days were among those who gathered at the university with admit cards, stationery and guidebooks for last-minute study.

On Sunday, an unusual sight graced Delhi University’s North Campus: several little children running around or napping in the arms of their fathers or a grandparent, waiting for their mothers to come out of an examination hall. Their mothers were among the former Delhi University students who did not complete their degrees and wrote their exam papers Sunday as part of the University’s ‘Centenary Chance’ to clear their examinations and get degrees.

While more than 8,000 former students have registered for these exams, 1,870 had their papers scheduled for Sunday. About 40.8% of the registered candidates appeared for the exam in the morning shift, while 17.2% were present for the evening shift.

Homemakers, professionals, and men who had to support their families back during their college days were among those who gathered at the university with admit cards, stationery and guidebooks for last-minute study. The Indian Express speaks to some of them:

Priya Verma (28)

When Priya walked out of the exam hall after writing her Education exam on Sunday, she was greeted by her husband cradling their four-year-old who was sound asleep. “He’s become a little bigger now, which is why we thought this is a good opportunity for me to get the degree. He’s in UKG now, so since June, I have been studying a little bit while he was at school,” she said.

A BA programme student in the School of Open Learning from the 2015 batch, she said she did not write her final-year exams because she got married and because of “family problems”.

Kanchan Chaudhury (30)

Despite many roadblocks so far, Kanchan is determined to finish her BA programme course, which she was supposed to complete at the School of Open Learning in 2018. She arrived at her mother’s home in Delhi on Friday, having travelled from her marital home in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr to write these exams.

“Without this degree, there is no means for a way forward. I will just remain where I am. I won’t be able to think of studying any further and nobody gives jobs to people without any degree.”

Kanchan had started out trying to do an honours degree from SOL but dropped it. After a year’s gap, she decided to try again, this time for a BA programme degree but was unable to clear the final year. She could not attempt to clear it the next year because she got married and had a baby a year after that who died soon after.

“I’ve been studying for a couple of hours each day and making notes after completing my housework. I have four papers in total, and if I manage to clear them, I will plan for a baby in the next year and then decide on the next step for me,” she said.

Gyanchand (34)

Gyanchand said he was unable to complete his BA programme degree from the School of Open Learning in 2014 after his mother fell ill during his final exams and he missed a paper. “I was the only earning member of my family at that time. I was working at a shop in Chandni Chowk as a helper,” he said.

Eight years later, he is still working at a shop in Chandni Chowk during the day along with a night job in the transport sector to support his family: he now has a wife and a four-year-old son.

“I think that I can get a better job if I complete my degree. But I haven’t had any time to prepare between both my jobs. When I sit with a book, I would start feeling sleepy,” he said.

Seema (42)

Seema might be past the 40 mark, but hopes that clearing her BA programme degree might open doors to a teaching degree for her. She was supposed to have completed the degree from the School of Open Learning in 2018 but came down with an illness. “It was actually very hard to find material to study from. Most of the stores have the newer books in line with the semester system but in our time, it was in the annual system. It took some hunting. Honestly, I have forgotten most of what I had learnt at that time but my husband has been very supportive,” she said.

After the pandemic restrictions were lifted, she began teaching at a preschool but hopes that she can attempt a “proper teaching degree” if she can complete her BA degree.