Age is just a number: Hyderabad’s 76-year-old scholar earns PhD

For successfully completing his PhD course work, Mohammed Ismail has been awarded a PhD degree in Hindi by Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU) during its 25th convocation here on Thursday.

Hyderabad: At an age where people prefer to sit back and spend time with grandkids, here is a 76-year old person who successfully earned himself a PhD degree.

For successfully completing his PhD course work, Mohammed Ismail has been awarded a PhD degree in Hindi by Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU) during its 25th convocation here on Thursday.

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Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, Ismail, a resident of Miryalaguda, said he wanted to set an example to present generation students, who were not keen on pursuing higher education.

“I wanted to show that age is just a number. I joined the PhD Hindi in 2018 and successfully completed it. It helped me acquire a lot of knowledge,” said Ismail, adding that he pursued MPhil and PG in Hindi in 1984.

The 20 research scholars who received MPhil / PhD also included an auto driver and a prisoner and homemaker. Citing this, UGC Chairman, Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar said it demonstrated the diversity of the student profile of the first Open University – BRAOU.

Delivering the convocation address, Prof. Kumar said the UGC’s data shows that ODL and online education has more than 50 per cent women representation.

According to BRAOU Vice Chancellor Prof. K Seetharama Rao, as many as 31,729 candidates were eligible for degrees, diplomas and certificates in the convocation in which a total of 43 gold medals with 33 for women and 10 for men were awarded.

In recognition of his services in the field of education, the BRAOU conferred honorary doctorate on educationist Prof. VS Prasad.