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School out! 10- year- old wonderkid to stand tall in university

By Piyush Srivastava | Mail Today – Thu, Dec 30 12:08 PM IST

The admission committee of the Lucknow University (LU) had lately been wracking its brains over an exceptional case -
whether or not to induct a 10-year-old girl in its BSc course.
After some serious deliberation, the panel concluded that since Sushma Verma had already cleared her matriculation and
intermediate examinations, she was entitled to study graduation courses.
Sushma's track record has been consistently stunning. She cleared class X with 59 per cent marks from the UP Board in
2007, when she was only seven. This year, she passed the intermediate exam with 62 per cent marks from St Miraj Inter
College.
Her admission to the LU was initially withheld because of her age. However, she moved an application before the
committee, urging it to reconsider the decision because she didn't want to waste a year and miss the academic session of
2010. "There is no specific mention of the minimum age limit in the rule book of the university. So, Sushma can be given
admission," the committee observed, responding to her plea.
According to university spokesperson S.K. Dwivedi, the committee was of the unanimous opinion that such students
should be encouraged."While deciding Sushma's case, we have reached the conclusion that such students who have cleared
their intermediate this year with good marks should be admitted for graduation courses," Dwivedi said. "Their age
shouldn't be a bar. In fact, it is a proud moment for us to have a 10-year-old undergraduate who is confident of excelling in
life," he added.
Sushma's achievement is all the more creditable because she comes from a family which has limited means. Her father
Tej Bahadur is a daily wager at the school she completed her intermediate course from.
Sushma's brother Shailendra Verma, too, is a child prodigy, having secured admission in LU's Bachelor of Computer
Applications course in 2009, when he was only 14.
He, however, opted for a career in website development. "My son is doing something extra- ordinary. Big companies have
hired him to tweak their websites," Shailendra's homemaker mother Chhaya Verma said. "My daughter will take admission
in the CMS Girl's Degree College, which is affiliated to the LU. She has opted for zoology, botany and chemistry," Bahadur.
a class eight dropout, said. "At the same time, she is preparing for medical entrance tests. Sushma wants to become a
doctor," he added.
Not only is Sushma a budding talent, the wonder kid is grounded as well. "There is nothing extraordinary about us. It is
just that my brother and I take our education seriously. This is because my father is a dropout and mother unlettered. My
dream is to open a hospital to treat poor people free of cost," she said humbly.
St Miraj's principal Anita Ratra was full of praise for her. " She is an excellent student with a special flair for graphics. She
secured a first division in her Class XII exams," Ratra said.

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