At 13,she is busy preparing for MSc microbiology at LU

Sushma is confident of making it to the merit list. But this is nothing new for the prodigy,who has completed her entire schooling in just six years. At less than three years of age,she could read Ramayana on stage and was studying the school books of her elder brother.

When she was five,she enrolled into St Meera’s Inter College in Lucknow,and in June 2007,Limca Book of Records recognised her as the youngest student — aged 7 years,3 months and 28 days — to pass Class X in the country.

Her fame took her to Japan,where she stood first in an IQ test “comprising people up to 35 years of age”,says her father Tej Bahadur,a daily wage earner,who owns a piece of land in his native village,and has a one-room house on the periphery of Lucknow.

In 2010,Sushma,wanting to be a doctor,sat for the Combined Pre-Medical Test (CPMT). However,her dream run was dealt a rude blow when her result was allegedly withheld by the Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj (CSJM) University,Kanpur. Officials refused to give any reason and Bahadur says they did not reply to his RTI queries either. “Some people said the minimum age for enrolling in MBBS is 17,which is why the university may have withheld the results,” Bahadur said.

Hence,in absence of other avenues and lack of a support system,Sushma,then 10,enrolled into BSc at Lucknow University after finishing her Class XII. After scoring 66 per cent in the three-year course,she has now submitted the application for MSc microbiology at LU.

“I want to be a doctor but I cannot apply for MBBS unless I’m 17. Until then,I’m just taking things as they come,” she says.

The percentage may just secure her an admission at LU,as the data of previous years show that the lower limit in the first cut-off list (for those who apply under the OBC category,through which Sushma has also applied) was 66 per cent.

To pay for Sushma’s education,Bahadur is in the process of selling a part of his land and has obtained an advance. On July 3 this year,he met Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav during Janata Darshan. “He gave us an assurance,we are hopeful that the state will fund Sushma’s education,” said Bahadur.