64-year-old mother of 7 happy after gaining admission into SHS (video)
A 64-year-old Ghanaian mother of seven children who is bent on furthering her education could not hide her joy after she gained admission to Christ The King Senior High School (CKC) at Obuasi.
A 64-year-old Ghanaian mother of seven children who is bent on furthering her education could not hide her joy after she gained admission to Christ The King Senior High School (CKC) at Obuasi.
Rita Offin reportedly commenced her studies on Monday, April 11, 2022.
According to Adomonline.com, the sexagenarian sat for the 2021 Basic Education Certificate Examination and she is among hundreds of pupils who have gained admission to various Senior High Schools (SHS) across the country.
She reportedly enrolled in class four at age 57 at Independence School Brahabebome, Obuasi and suffered a lot of mockery, but she didn’t let it discourage her from pursuing her dream.
As to what inspired her to defy age and ridicule to want to get a formal education at all costs at her age, Rita Offin said the challenges she experienced with business due to her inability to read and write compelled her to pursue formal education.
Her prayer is that God will give her long life and good strength to complete her education and enjoy its benefits someday.
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Offin’s determination, despite her age, pleased James Kwaku Brefo, the assistant headmaster in charge of administration at Christ The King Senior High School.
He urged students at the school to take her as a role model and take their studies seriously.
Interestingly, some of the first year students were glad to have Offin as a mother figure among them.
This is not the first time an elderly person has made news headlines for pursuing a formal education. In 2020, Elizabeth Yamoah, a 57-year-old woman who partook in the 2020 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), disclosed that working in a government institution was the motivation behind her decision to write the exams despite her age.
News about the elderly woman with four kids and five grandchildren made waves in the media space after she wrote her first paper, which was in English at Agona Odoben Presbyterian Basic School in the Central region.
Photos of her wearing her school uniform with a bag on her bag went viral on social media, triggering a lot of reactions among users, some of whom wondered why the woman chose to partake in a basic school exam at her age.
She explained that she dropped out of school at class four after the death of her father, a situation which made her abandon her burning desire to get educated and become a farmer instead.
"When I was a kid, my father took me to school, but I couldn’t continue again after my father died and I had to go into farming. I really wanted to be a nurse, but my dream was cut short and because I didn’t want to give up, I decided to go to school at this age, so I work in an institution.
"I really want to complete JHS and go to Senior High School (SHS), thanks to free SHS and will start working in a government institution so that I can also enjoy the money because they are spending all the money," she said.
