13-yr-old makes it to MSc Microbiology

Even though he had time till Friday,Sushmas father Tej Bahadur Verma locked the seat Tuesday by paying the first installment of Rs 25,075. Bahadur,a daily wage warner,hopes to somehow manage to pay the fee of subsequent semesters.

Sushma,meanwhile,said she is happy as her wait is over. I was hoping to get into Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar central University as it is close by. After initially denial,they granted me admission and asked me to wait for an admission letter,to be sent to my home,which hasnt come yet, Sushma said. So when I was selected at LU,I asked my father to lock the seat as I didnt want to risk losing an year, she said.

This year,Sushma completed her BSc in Zoology and Botany from an LU-affiliated college in three years. The college was close by and my father would drop and pick me. LU campus is far and the every day commute may be troublesome but Im looking forward to studying there, Sushma said.

Like other MSc Microbiology students,she has to report to the department on September 2.

Being a self-financed course,MSc Microbiology requires a minimum of 40 per cent seats to run. We are certain that the course will run but the picture will be clear only after the seats are locked for the second merit list, LU admission coordinator Prof N K Khare said. With a total of 30 seats,the course requires a minimum of 12 seats to run.

Sushma passed class ten in 2007,at age seven,earning herself her a Limca book of records recognition for being the youngest student to pass the class; in 2010,she passed class 12 at ten years of age.