At 38, mother an higher secondary examinee

Homemaker and son appear for test, law enforcers ferry students in distress

Latika Mondal, 38, and her son Sourav, 19, study together before leaving for the exam centre at their home in Nadia’s Santipur on Tuesday.: The Telegraph

Subhasish Chaudhuri   |  TT  | Calcutta   |  15.03.23 : A 38-year-old homemaker from Nadia’s Santipur, who had to halt her studies more than 24 years ago in Class VI, left home on Tuesday to take this year’s higher secondary examinations along with her son.

Latika Mondal of Nrisinhapur village in Nadia’s Santipur, a mother of two, is taking this year’s HS exam as a student of Nrisinhapur High School in Santipur.

Latika on Tuesday took the first language paper, Bengali, as a regular candidate at the Haripur High School centre. Her son Sourav, 19, a student of Kalna Maharaja High School, wrote the same test at Kalna Ambika Mahismardini High School in East Burdwan.

Latika’s daughter Shila is a BA third-year Bengali honours student at Santipur College.

Latika, who dreamt of becoming a teacher, had to give up formal education at an early age owing to financial difficulties. She was married off young to a construction worker.  

The opportunity to resume her studies came three years ago when neighbours advised her to enrol at the Rabindra Mukta Vidyalaya under the West Bengal Council Of Rabindra Open Schooling to clear her Madhyamik exam.

In 2021, she completed her Madhyamik from the open school’s Santipur Municipality High School centre.

“I never lost interest in studies. The desire to resume studies actually revived when my daughter’s schooling began. But being an over-burdened homemaker from a poor family, I never got the opportunity to resume my studies. But it was eventually made possible with the support of some of my neighbours and my husband Ashim,” said Latika.

“Passing Madhyamik would never have been possible without the active support of my children and husband,” she smiled.

After Madhyamik, Latika got admitted to Class XI at Nrisinhapur High School as a regular student in humanities. She chose Bengali, history, political science, education and Sanskrit as her subjects.

Attending classes regularly was a problem because of her obligations as a homemaker. However, school authorities helped her.

Latika’s son Sourav said he was proud of her: “For me, it is a great experience to have studied alongside my mother these last two years.

We took the same combination so that we could study together. As my sister had the same subjects in Class XII, she was our guide.”

Latika said she wanted to study further.

“I had once wanted to be a teacher. Now my age is a bar. But I will study, right up to master’s degree if possible, just to be an educated human being.”

A teacher of Nrisinhapur High School said: “Latika is a role model for many women who had to give up studies owing to poverty, but never lost love for education.”