Lessons in Integrity

A Mother's Refusal to Set SSC Papers for Her Son's Exam

Uday Shankar

1/22/20241 min read

I come from a middle class family. My father was a government servant and my mother a teacher. At home, she would diligently teach me mathematics & physics in preparation for the SSC board examination - a life and death situation for students in the early seventies.

Money was hard to come by and those were challenging times for any parent to get through. Fortunately for her, the board of secondary education had empaneled her to set the physics & mathematics papers for the SSC board examination.

Year after year, she was given the confidential assignment. Needless to say, she was an automatic choice.

However, that year when she was offered to set the papers, she politely refused .

“It is a rare honor to set the question papers for the state & the board pays you well for the job. Why are you refusing the offer madam?“, asked the bemused authorities.

‘Sir‘, replied my mother. “This year my son is appearing for the SSC examination and it is not proper on my part to accept the assignment”.

When I look back, the value system practiced by our parents has left a lasting impression on us, shaping our lives & leading us through the path of righteousness.

To this day, I am grateful to them.

Engage your organisation with

a thought-provoking session!

Know more about our Corporate Training Programs