KHOTANG, Sept 4: In her twilight years, Jurimaya Rai of Keplasgadhi Rural Municipality-4, Bakshila should have been spending her days taking rest like some of her friends of her age. Instead, she has chosen to go to school with students who are of her grandchildren's age.

With a bag on her back, seventy-five-year-old Rai goes to school every day with other children and returns with them. After getting home, she keeps herself busy by doing homework assigned by her teachers. In order to fulfill her desire of studying, she was enrolled in grade one of Saraswati Secondary School (SSS) of Diktel on July 22 this year. Her teacher Nurkaji Sainju, says Rai has been a quick learner for picking up most of the words and alphabets within a short span of time.

During her heydays, women were prohibited from going to school despite their will to get educated. Like hundreds of other women, Rai who was born in 1943 AD, too was deprived of this opportunity. In the past, there were hardly any schools in villages which made it more challenging for her to attain education. However, her old age did not deter her from going to school to pursue her long-cherished dream of attaining formal education.

Despite the age difference, she does not hesitate being friends with children who are six or seven years old. Instead, she is very excited about her regular routine now. All of her classmates call her 'grandmother' while teachers call her 'aama' (mother). 

"Children often make noise in the classroom but now I have been used to with all this," said Rai, adding,"Their age hardly matters to me as I am here for education." 

Originally, from Bakshila, Rai started living in Sangampark of Diktel from 2016. As she is a Christian by religion, her aim of attending school is to become able to read bible by herself. She had made her mind to join school a year ago but could not do so due to lack of encouragement.

Apart from doing homeworks and class assignments, she also participates in classroom interactions. She is among a very few regular students of her class. Class teacher Sainju, on the other hand, says he feels proud to be teaching a woman of his mother's age. 

"She is the pride of our school. I will try my best to make her able to read and write," he said.

She got married in 1963. Few years after marriage, her husband joined Singapore Police. As she did not give birth to a child, her husband married for the second time and started living with his new wife. She has been managing her expenses with half of her husband's pension.

There are altogether 28 students in grade one of SSS including Rai.

 
• Bakshila
 
• School
 
• Jurimaya_Rai