When middle-aged people and senior citizens walked into K.L.E. Society’s S. Nijalingappa College here on Wednesday, they became nostalgic. It wasn’t a reunion or a trip down memory lane. But they had come to the college to appear for Bangalore University’s degree examination. They had come with their examination pad and were seen franctically glancing through their notes. They were all on a mission – to complete their degree exams. The varsity had set 478 question papers for over 1,500 students appearing for supplementary examination that the varsity was conducting for people who had not cleared all their papers, and who had studied in colleges affiliated to Bangalore University since 1964. These alumni were given the ‘golden’ opportunity to clear their exams as part of the university’s golden jubilee offer. Many, however, were clueless about the syllabus and the date of the examination until the last minute, but yet decided to put their best foot forward to clear the exams.
Mahesh Kumar (42), real estate business, RBANMS College, B.Sc. (1993 batch)
Over the past month, Mahesh has been leaving early from office, has taken many leaves, gone scouting for books and Wednesday was his make or break day as he appeared for the physics exam. He came in to his examination centre early and was excited about writing his exam after close to two decades. “I was unable to clear my exams when I was a student, and had taken supplementary examination twice. But subsequently, the course syllabus changed,” he said. He, however, came back to college with and determination.
Umashankari (42), homemaker, Hasanath College for Women, B.Com. (1995 batch)
Rama Kumar Reddy, father of two teenaged boys, had taken a day off from work as his wife was appearing for examination after two decades. The homemaker, who had discontinued her studies due to personal reasons, now wants to complete two papers as she wants to earn a degree. Already juggling between managing her kids and her job at a BPO, it was a challenge to find time to study. “I would wake up at 3 a.m. and study as there would be no distractions.”
Vijay Anand Kumar (50), teacher and works in the construction industry, RBANMS College, B.Com. (1985 batch)
It was role reversal for Vijay Anand Kumar, a teacher. He has been studying to clear his exams and has even been attending tutorials to clear two papers in the final year. Although he has three degrees from universities in London, he says that he wanted to complete his degree “to fill in the blanks”. “I could not appear for many of these exams as I went abroad. But being a teacher myself, I had to complete my degree and devoted several hours a day for studying.”
Chitra (52), homemaker, Seshadripuram College, B.Com. (1982 batch)
Armed with a new college bag over her shoulder, this 52-year-old was in jitters. She candidly admitted that nothing was going into her head. But since she devoted about four hours a day for studies, she hopes that her hard work would help her clear two of her papers that were pending and bag a degree. She said that she was motivated to study by her husband and hopes to surprise her son, a PhD holder. She says that she spent several days in the college library and frantically searched for the books and admitted that preparing for the examination after 23 years was a challenge by itself.
