29-year-old house help from Mumbai to take SSC board exams, will work at the same time

For the past month, 29-year-old Anita Nalawade hasn’t had a good night’s sleep – all because she’s been studying for the Class 10 exams.

Nalawade, who works as a house-help in Borivli, dropped out in 1999 when she was in Class 5. “I had to help my mother at home as she would go out to work. I wanted to study, but there was no option but to drop out as we needed an extra helping hand,” said Nalawade. Today, Nalawade is the sole earning member in her family, which includes her mother, sister-in-law and her two children.

In 2016, Nalawade enrolled in Class 8 at Nalanda Night School in Borivli. “I work from 6am to 8pm every day, without a break. After that, I’d attend school and try to study.” Nalawade, who works in several households, will be working through the exams. “The exams would be on for almost a month and I won’t be able to take that much leave. So I will go to work whenever I can and will try to take out time during the night to study,” she said.

Nalawade said that she hopes to continue her education and wants to study commerce. “I want to complete my graduation in commerce. I hope that having a degree would help me get a better job,” she said.