Age no bar: This Delhi University aspirant is 67 years old

Among hundreds of curious teenagers, who turned up to attend the Delhi University's (DU) counselling session on Monday, was 67-year-old Nagesh Chaddha, who also wants to take admission and study further. After failing to get admission in an MA course in Urdu last year, the retired employee of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is now ready to enroll in any course just to fulfil his dream of attending regular classes.

Mistaken as the grandfather of an aspirant or a varsity official by most participants at the session, Chaddha wants to set an example for the youngsters. " I am here to ask for the officials' suggestion regarding which course will suit my personality now. I had tried to take admission last year as well but did not get any assistance from the university," he said.

Grandfather of three, Chaddha, had joined the LIC in 1974 after his father's death, but his desire to study did not die and he applied for BCom course under DU's distance education option. "I completed the course with 56 per cent marks in 1977. My score was actually good even by today's standard," he said.

He has also done an advanced diploma in Urdu language from DU in 2016. "I waited for 40 years to live my dream of learning Urdu," he said, proudly showing his Urdu diploma certificate. On being queried about his interest in the Urdu language, he said, "My father left behind some diaries written in Urdu. I always wanted to read them. So, I decided to learn the language." He is now pursuing a diploma in Persian Language.

Desired to join regular classes, he has now been trying to enroll in a regular masters course in DU for the past two years. "I had approached each and every official in the university administration but did not get any help. They had given me options to join certificate courses but I want to join a proper degree course. I had even written to the vice-chancellor but received no response," Chaddha said.

Commenting on Chaddha's candidature, Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, Deputy Dean, Student Welfare, said, "There is no age bar in any course in DU. We also have 70-year-olds pursuing several diploma courses. He met us last year and we asked him to follow a procedure but then he did not turn up. We are yet to receive his application this year."

OLD IS GOLD

Mistaken as the grandfather of an aspirant or as a Delhi University official by most participants at the varsity’s counselling session, Chaddha wants to set an example for youngsters