Self-taught 43-yr-old auto driver prepares for exam
MUMBAI: As HSC exams are set to begin from Thursday, Sharif Khan, 43, a father of five who works as an auto driver, is engrossed in last-minute preparations. Khan will appear as a private candidate for the exams from Commerce stream at Mulund’s MCC College this year.
Khan, who hails from Pratapgad in Uttar Pradesh, dropped out of school when he was in Class 8 in 1991. He went back to books in 2017 after he was encouraged by friends and family to continue his education. After passing Class 10 exams with 51.20% that year, he is now set to appear for HSC exams.
“I always wanted to study but had to drop out due to financial issues; I was the eldest son among seven siblings and had to earn for the family. Later, while working with an auto-rickshaw union, few people encouraged me to continue my education after seeing my interest in studies,” he said.
Khan, who lives with his family in a 10x10 room at Mulund’s Babu Jagjeevanram Nagar, is fighting all odds to appear for the exam, including a fractured hand and lack of expert guidance. “On January 22, I fractured my left hand while riding a motorcycle in my home town. Since then, the hand is in a cast. The pain in the hand makes it difficult for me to concentrate on studies. But I am determined to do well,” he said.
To focus on his studies, Khan had even stopped working for the last two months. With his poor economic background, he could not afford a tutor and is completely self-taught. “I had given my Class 10 boards from the Hindi medium but in Class 12, I had to study all subjects in English. In the beginning, I had great difficulty in understanding most subjects but I slowly managed to do so with the help of my daughters,” he said.
“Two of my daughters are studying Commerce for their undergraduate courses as a result of which I also took up Commerce. After this, however, I want to take up Law and Political Science to understand current issues well,” Khan said.
Khan, however, struggles to make ends meet while balancing his work and studies. “I am the sole earning member of the family and studying full time will not work for me. I will try to enrol in a night college after this,” he said.
His youngest daughter Aayesha, who will appear for her SSC exams this year, said that she is proud of her father.
“I am happy to see him doing so well despite all the hardships,” she said.