Krishnan Arunasalam, 85
Bachelor of Accounting, 2017
Currently pursuing Master of Business Administration
He was born in July 1933 and 21 years later, he became a teacher. As time went on, he rose to become a senior assistant and then headmaster of a secondary school before joining the Education Department.
After his retirement and the demise of his wife, Krishnan went to live with his daughter in Seremban. He could have led a life of leisure.
Instead, he decided to upgrade his qualification, a Higher School Certificate, to a degree. So in 2010, he took up the Bachelor of Accounting programme because he used to teach that subject.
“OUM offers a huge discount for senior citizens and the Seremban Learning Centre is located near my house, so I decided to enrol in the University,” he said.
“I had been teaching for more than 40 years and being able to continue studying at this age is gratifying. The face-to-face tutorials are particularly fun because we get to engage in lively discussions,” he explained.
Besides making new friends, he also had the ironic opportunity of studying alongside two of his former students. “We were in the same class taking the same course! It was heartening that they were striving to also better themselves through education.”
The octogenarian faced some challenges in managing his studies online but overcame them with the help of his daughter, a lawyer. “I like OUM’s flexibility. When I had to undergo an operation, the University allowed me to defer two semesters and then return to my studies.”
His hard work paid off when he received his scroll at the 20th Convocation in 2017. He was featured in a few local newspapers for obtaining a degree at the ripe age of 83. Has he stopped learning? Definitely not!
Krishnan, now 85, is back at the Seremban Learning Centre. This time around, he’s undertaking the Master of Business Administration programme.
This two-time OUM graduate (and current PhD candidate) proves there is no mountain too high when it comes to achieving her dreams.
Your golden years need not be boring. You don’t have to sit at home and wonder where your life has gone and when your children or grandchildren will visit you again. You can take your life in your hands and do something that is meaningful for you. One octogenarian is living life on his terms, furthering his studies for his own fulfilment. This is his story.
Nelson Mandela once said: “The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.” So what must we do to build a respectable society and protect our children from abuse?
His responsibilities range from preparing apparatuses, samples and reagents in the laboratory to writing articles on football for Semuanya BOLA. Gary Hardin Lugard, 37, plans to continue doing amazing things in life.
