Mother, son pass exam together

PUNE: Here's a unique case of a mother and son passing their Std 10 together. Forty-year-old Kanta Patekar from Abasaheb Atre Night School and her son, 15-year-old Kshitij Kalekinge from SSPMS School and College, burnt the midnight oil together to pass the most important exam of their lives.
"I would like to pursue a college education now," says Patekar, who left school after failing Std 8, several years ago.Marriage and four children later, it was her husband who encouraged her to get back on the study track. "It was because of his support that I was able to go to school three years ago. My son and I completed Std 8, 9 and 10 together. I would attend three hours of night school every evening and he was a day scholar," says Patekar, who scored 42.80 per cent in the SSC exam.
Kshitij, who scored 48.73 per cent, is only too happy to see his mother graduate to the next level of education. "It's a rare privilege for me to study and pass along with my mother. While preparing for our Std 10 examinations, we would help each other when faced with problems. She would assist me in Marathi and Hindi and I would help her in mathematics and English. We would even discuss question papers after taking the exam. I would keep telling her, 'Tension gheu nako, aai,' " says Kshitij.
While his mother was away at night school, Kshitij would study at home with his three siblings: an older sister and younger brother and sister. "I want to study science. I want to become an architect," says Kshitij. "I got the highest in maths and mom scored the highest in science. I would like my mother to complete college. I never found it awkward these past three years that she was going to school. Even my friends praised her efforts," he says.
For Patekar, it's a new beginning." "I keep telling my children how important education is. After passing Std 10, I have a new-found confidence.
I hope my example inspires other women to get themselves an education," she says.