Agartala: Dudhu Miah, a matriculate govt schoolteacher, lost his job in March 2020 during a high court-ordered scrutiny of 10,000-odd recruitments across rural Tripura. This week, he reclaimed his pride and dignity by clearing the Class 12 board exam — an achievement made sweeter by the fact that his daughter Ruma Akter was the other successful candidate in the family.Dudhu had taught for over a decade since passing Madhyamik, the state high school board exam, before a 2014 controversy involving the selection process for schoolteachers put him under the scanner. The termination came six years later when Supreme Court dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the HC order.Dudhu worked as a daily-wage labourer and started a small business to support his family and ensure that Ruma didn’t have to drop out of school.Back then, he couldn’t have imagined that he and his daughter would write the Tripura Board of Secondary Education’s Class 12 exam together at Pramodnagar Higher Secondary School in Jampuijala town of Sepahijala district.“Whenever I encountered any challenge, my father was the first person I would go to. He may not have studied beyond Class 10 but he was always academically inclined. It was me who suggested he consider enrolling for higher secondary classes and, to my delight, he agreed,” Ruma told TOI. “We would study the same subjects together, with him taking on the teacher’s role when I needed assistance.”The board exam results, declared last Friday, made father and daughter resolve to now go to college together.“Losing my job made me feel helpless but studying was never far from my mind. When my daughter invited me to join her class, I seized the opportunity with confidence. Now, I am determined to complete my graduation,” Dudhu said.Board president Dhananjoy Ganchoudhury termed Dudhu and Ruma clearing the exam together an “extraordinary” achievement given their circumstances. “Their success should serve as inspiration for others struggling to continue their studies for various reasons.”
