Mother, daughter clear SSC together

A mother-daughter duo from Sewri has made history by appearing for and successfully clearing together, the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams, which were held by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE).

Sarita Zagade, the 43-year old mother, appeared for the SSC exams along with her 16-year-old daughter, Shrutika, and both managed to pass the exams in their first attempt.

According to Sarita, she had been unable to continue studying after Class 4 as her father died and the family had financial constraints. “I was in Class 4 when my father died. We were four sisters and one brother. My sisters then got together to earn money to run the household,” said the resident of Wageshwari Nagar at Sewri.

However, after marriage, Sarita’s husband Vishwanath encouraged her to complete her education and she joined Class 8 in a night school. The encouragement by Vishwanath, who works with the Tax Appellate Tribunal, helped Sarita get over her fears and inhibitions.

“Initially, I was very scared to go back to school after almost 35 years, but my husband motivated me. I thought of giving it a shot and told him I would continue only if I liked it. Within a few days, I began loving it,” said Sarita.

Regarding her experience in the exam hall, she said, “As I was the eldest one in the exam hall, everyone seemed to be looking at me and I realised that they weren’t used to seeing older people in the hall.”

The SSC results declared on June 6 saw Sarita, the mother of two daughters, score 44 per cent marks while Shrutika got 69 per cent. Her elder daughter Kshitija also appeared for the Higher Secondary Education (HSC) examination this year and scored 48 per cent marks. All three of them studied together, juggling between studying and household chores according to their exam schedules. The three were assigned different examination centres.