Patna: Raj Kumar Vaishya fulfilled his seven-decade old dream after he received the Masters Degree in Economics from Nalanda Open University. The 98-year-old appeared for the final semester examination with other regular students in September this year and passed with second division.
Vaishya was born in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh on April, 1, 1920. He passed his senior secondary examination in 1934 from Government High School, Bareilly and went on to complete his LLB from Agra University in 1938.
Vaishya told News18 that he got a job in a Mica company in Koderma district of the then undivided Bihar and after retirement settled in Patna. But he always dreamt of doing Masters and his 79 years old wait ended on Wednesday.
His name has been registered in Limca Book of Records for being the oldest Post Graduate student to be enrolled in any university.
“I decided to get admitted in Nalanda Open University in 2015. When I got the news that I have successfully cleared the exams, I could not believe. SP Sinha, Registrar of the University, visited my home on Monday to personally convey this news. Then I told my daughter-in-law Bharti to bring some sweets,” Vaishya told News18.
His daughter-in-law, Bharti S Kumar, herself a retired History professor of Patna University, said that the entire family went into a festive mood after he received the degree. “He is an inspiration for our younger generation. He proved that dreams have no age limit. Sheer determination can help achieve you any feat,” she said.
“He studied at least six hours daily and we would help him in this regard. We took advice from the doctor and he maintained his diet accordingly,” she added.
Vaishya’s son Santosh, also a retired professor of NIT Patna, helped him in his studies by translating all the study materials from Hindi to English. Santosh said now his father wants to write a book on how to reduce poverty and another one about himself.
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