Father, son clear Class 10 with same marks
BHUBANESWAR: A father-son duo in Odisha’s coastal district of Balasore cleared their Class 10 examination from an open school with the same marks, showed results which were announced on Monday.
Arun Kumar Bej, 58, a senior district Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, had to stop his studies as he lost his father when he was in class 7. Meanwhile, his 30-year-old son Kumar Biswajit Bej was unable to clear his Class 10 exams when he attempted them in 2004. Bej and his son scored 60% marks this time.
While the lack of a formal school certificate did not prevent Bej’s influence in local politics, it always rankled him. “My daughter, elder son, daughter-in-law and son-in-law are all educated. Though I could read and write, the lack of education was always a point of discussion at home. I had to leave the education column in my 2014 election affidavit blank. I felt guilty,” said Bej.
Biswajit too quit studying when he was unable to clear the exam in 2004. Upset over the result, he didn’t attempt the exam again and instead opened a stationery store in his village. “In our family we were the only two who did not clear matric. I thought if I appear for matric, maybe my younger son would be motivated. Since last year, both of us went to a nearby school every Sunday and attended the open school programme. I think both of us did quite well,” Bej said.
Balasore district BJP president Madan Mohan Dutta said Bej’s success proved that there was no age limit for education.
Bej is now gearing up for higher education. “I want to now enrol for higher education in IGNOU. I may lose the polls, but I would no longer be a man without an educational achievement.”
Like the National Institute of Open School (NIOS), the Odisha State Open School was started in 2016.