Grandmothers attending school with granddaughters

By Rajkumar Bhattarai,Khotang, Sept. 22: The saying ‘Age is no barrier to learning’ has been proven true by Dhan Kumari Rai and Pujaan Darji of Khotang. 

Dhan Kumari Rai, 78, and Pujaan Darji, 52, from Patheka of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality-10 have started attending school with their granddaughters.

Rai and Darjee have enrolled in Grade 1 at Saraswati Secondary School in Patheka. Principal Uttar Prasad Rai of Saraswati Secondary School said that they enrolled in school two months ago and have been regularly attending school since then.

Their granddaughter Parisa Rai and Sneha Darji study at the Early Childhood Development Centre. The grandmothers accompany their granddaughters to school and bring them home after school. It had been two months of going to and from school with their granddaughters. 

Seeing them spend the whole day at school, the teachers suggested the grannies to study well. Now, both grandmothers carry their notebooks and pens and have started attending school with their granddaughters. Principal Rai said that they have been provided with lunch since the day they enrolled.

They went to school carrying their citizenship certificates for enrollment. Rai's birth date is listed as November 1, 1946, and Darji's as November 5, 1972, on their certificates. At the age of 78, Rai can walk comfortably and hear well. She does not wear glasses yet.

Darji said that she was fulfilling her childhood dream of studying, which she could not do back then. “I faced a lot of difficulties as I lacked education. That is why I have a desire to learn. If we can read and write, people cannot deceive us,” she said.

Rai said that she joined the school with the desire to learn letters and numbers. According to Principal Rai, the grandmothers going to school have inspired others as well. 

Saraswati Secondary School, established in 1960, currently has over 300 students. Since August 22, 2024, the school has also started Grade 11 classes through donations.