Kolkata: She is 59 but her enthusiasm towards studying is as fresh as any teenage student. Nurjahan Begum from Cooch Behar passed her higher secondary examination this year from Rabindra Open School in the district.

Squeezing time out of domestic preoccupations, Nurjahan managed to appear for the exam to fulfill her long-cherished dream. She had passed her secondary exam in 1969 and then had to leave school after her marriage to Saidul Haq.

However, Nurjahan did complete a short training course in nursing and got a job of a health supervisor in the state health department.

"I had a great aspiration to pass the higher secondary exam which I could not complete because of other pressures. Now my daughters are grown up and I could easily take out time from my regular schedule and devote it to my further studies."

"I used to study at night as my entire day was occupied with various office-related and domestic works. When everybody had gone to sleep, I used to prepare myself for the exam," Nurjahan said.

According to Rabindra Open School's secretary Shulapani Bhattacharjee, the results of the higher secondary exam were out on December 30, 2009, and Nurjahan was the oldest candidate of the year.

"Now my aim is to complete my graduation. Whatever inspiration I have, I got it from my mother. She taught me to dream big in life and that is the only thing I can depend on," she said. IANS