High school at 7 and MSc at 13! Way to go, girl

The Limca Book of Records describes her as the youngest matriculate in India. She passed her high school at seven.

At 10, she took the Combined Pre Medical Test. Now at 13, she is doing her MSc in microbiology with special permission from the Lucknow University V-C.

Despite her achievements, Sushma Verma (in pic) is the most unassuming person one would come across. She answers questions with a child-like innocence. She is soft-spoken to the point of being barely audible. Her father, Tej Bahadur Verma, is a daily wage labourer. The four-feet ‘kutcha’ road that leads to her house is totally dark. Her entire house is limited to one small room, which also includes the kitchen.

“I am happy with what we have. Of course, I too want a lot of things,” she said. “But I thank god for giving me the gift of learning.”

Sushma wants to become a doctor. But her age is a problem. “After MSc I will not be able to sit for CPMT because of my age. So, I will do a PhD.”

Her father, who studied only till Std VIII, said Sushma has always been passionate about studies. “She used to read the books of her elder brother and ask him to teach her what he was studying,” he said.

Sushma gives her brother Shailendra all the credit for her success. Shailendra, too, was a prodigy. He did his high school at nine and BCA at 14. Now at 20, he is doing his MCA at Bangalore, along with a job.

Asked about the six-year gap between the two courses, Tej Bahadur said: “We just did not have any money.”

Even Sushma’s first semester fees for her PG (about Rs25,000) was a tall order. “I could deposit it only because I had saved money by selling my field in our village,” he said. And he has no idea how he will manage the next semester fees.
“I have written to the chief minister. He might help if media people like you write about my daughter,” he said. He has also requested a fee waiver from Lucknow University.

Sushma is an apt example of how brilliance can blossom with commitment and honest effort despite economic deprivation. Unlike students of her age, she has no access to mobile phone, laptop or internet. Even an old 14-inch TV in her house telecast only Doordarshan channels.

Sushma misses the internet for which she goes to a cyber café. “I miss a better atmosphere, a better neighbourhood. But then, there are a lot of dreams... all of them cannot be fulfilled.”