Baghpat: It took him nearly three decades and several failed attempts, but a 59-year old man from Uttar Pradesh has finally achieved the dream he set his sights on in 1999 -- becoming a government teacher.
Vijay Kumar Sharma, a resident of Badhwad village in the Baraut area of Baghpat, has been selected as a TGT Sanskrit teacher at an aided secondary school in the neighbouring Shamli district. On September 22, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath handed him his appointment letter at a programme held at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow.
For Sharma, however, the appointment letter represents much more than a government job. It marks the culmination of a goal he refused to abandon despite repeated setbacks for about 27 years.
Over the years, Sharma cleared the TGT written examination six times and the PGT examination four times. He appeared for interviews on around eight occasions, but never made it to the final list.
Each time, he went back to his books.
This time, however, the recruitment process did not include an interview, and Sharma's long wait finally ended with his selection.
What makes his journey even more striking is that he spent nearly 26 years teaching in private schools while continuing to prepare for government recruitment examinations. He taught Hindi and Sanskrit at Vivekanand Vidyapeeth and Doon Public School.
According to Prashant Jain, director of Doon Public School, Sharma would teach students during the day and continue preparing for competitive examinations alongside his work.
Teaching was already part of the family. Sharma's father, Laxman Singh, was also a teacher.
The 59-year-old's two sons are working with the Uttar Pradesh Police, while one of his three daughters has also been selected for a teaching post and is currently on the waiting list.
For Sharma, the years of rejection were not reasons to stop but opportunities to improve his preparation.
He believes age should not become a barrier to achieving a goal as long as a person continues to make an effort.
Now, at 59, Sharma is finally set to enter a government school as a teacher and proud of the journey, albeit long, that got him here.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
