Many of us might have heard the phrase “Age is just a number!” but only a few realize the real concept behind the phrase.
Most commonly, this phrase is so overused when it comes to age differences between a couple but, for what it’s worth, the phrase applies to almost every aspect of our lives. Such as this old man from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who is breaking age barriers to pursue his career.
Meet Baba Muhammad Khan, a 76 years old who who enrolled in a university to complete his Bachelor degree.
Hailing from Dargai District, Syed Muhammad Khan, 76, got admission to the University of Malakand to complete his BA Part-1 studies.
He did matriculation in 1962 from Dargai High School and joined the government school as a teacher of theology in 1965. He has been a teacher at the same schoool for almost 41 years, until his retirement in 2004.
During his job at the school, his education remained incomplete. After his retirement, he focused on his daugherts’ academic career and educated them up to postgraduate level.
And now, almost 16 years on, he finally completed his FA in 2020 from BISE Malakand and now he is all set to complete his degree in Bachelor of Arts from the University of Malakand.
Syed Muhammad Khan has four daughters whom he sent to school and educated them from pimary to post graduate level.
“I want to get a master’s degree after doing BA. I provided education to my daughters from primary to post graduate and now I want to continue my studies,” Syed Mohammad said in an interview.
The lively old man met the Vice-Chancellor of Malakand University in person to request for his admission in the university.
Impressed by his spirit and dedication, the Malakand University waived all his tuition fees. The Vice Chancellor of the university has also vowed to bear his educational expenses in the future.
Baba Muhammad Khan thanked the administration of University of Malakand for providing him an opportunity to complete the studies in his lifetime.
When asked about the gap between his matriculation and FA, the old man revealed that he could not continue his academic career when he was young due to his poor lifestyle.
After his wife passed away he moved out to daughter’s house where his currenty resides as there is no one else to take care of him. Talking to Indepenent Urdu, the old man said that seeking knowledge is the duty of every Muslim and that he cannot stay at home and his passion is to use this time to complete his education.
We all fall prey to the social restrictions and st find ourselves struggling to get an education at a certain ‘socially-accepted’ age group. So that we can earn for bread and butter, get married, and begin a family.
However, it is appeasing to know that exceptional passionate people still exist in society—people who break age barriers and make a difference through their extraordinary achievements.
Baba Muhammad Khan is, indeed, an inspiration to us young people as well os elderly men who are still young at heart. This man shows that we should never give up no matter the circumstances we face in our life.
