Age no limit to learn: Jharkhand's Education Minister gets admission in class XI

Jharkhand’s Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto has taken admission in class XI. Sounds strange, but it’s true. The Cabinet Minister in the Hemant Soren Government confessed that he was tired of taunts by his rivals that the Education Minister was merely a class X pass.

“So, on August 10, I got myself enrolled in Class XI at Devi Mahto Inter College in Bokaro district,” said the 52-year-old Mahto, who is a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA from Dumri in Giridih.

He had no inhibitions in admitting that he was resuming his studies after a gap of 25 years. “In 1995, I passed my matriculation examination with second division. I could not pursue further studies due to certain family compulsions. However, the day I was sworn in as Education Minister of Jharkhand, some of my opponents took a jibe at me saying how can a class X pass (matriculate) handle the Education Department of the state. It was then that I decided that I will pursue my further studies from the next session onwards,” Mahto averred.

The minister, who has opted for Arts subjects, admitted that he would attend his classes as well as discharge his responsibility as a minister. “Since I am a politician, I will choose political science as one of the subjects as it will boost my career further,” said Mahto.

Incidentally, it was Mahto, who, after becoming a legislator for the first time in 2005, had inaugurated Devi Mahto Inter College in 2006 at Bokaro. Co-incidentally, he will now be a student of the same college at the age of 52. “There is no age limit to attain education,” said the Education Minister of the tribal-dominated state before signing off.