Be Inspired: Hajiya Fatima Kurfi, 79, Finally Fulfils Her Graduation Goals

"Age is no barrier in attaining a good education". So says the words of Hajiya Kurfi who graduated from  Al-Qalam University in Katsina, Nigeria, with a Bachelors Degree in Islamic Studies in 2009; but her convocation ceremony was deferred with other students’, till last week when the university held its maiden convocation for seven sets that had passed through the institute.

“When I was young, there used to be a primary school in Kurfi town were all my peers went, but I was not among them. After I got married, my husband started to teach me how to read and write, and it was with this I was able to guide my children,” Mama Kurfi said. When her husband left for England and she joined him there, her spoken English improved greatly during the almost three years she spent there.

“During my stay there, I tried to do something about my education but could not. Upon my return to the country, I took up the challenge to get the formal education as all this time I was still doing my informal teaching and learning processes,” she said. She then enrolled in an Arabic Teachers College where she did her secondary school, then proceeded for a Diploma at Danfodio College, an affiliate of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto. After three years there, she got admitted into Al-Qalam University in 2005 to 2009.

Recalling her secondary school days, Mama Kurfi said she was enrolled in the same class with her grandchild  - “It wasn’t awkward at all. In fact it was fun. We’d meet and do homework together and share thoughts and information on various subjects. It was quite memorable.”

Mama Kurfi, a mother of four children and grandmother of twenty has been an advocate of girl child education, as her Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has been effective in ensuring female children get educated. She also runs a private school were children of humble backgrounds are given access to both Western and Islamic education.

Her son, Architect Mansur Kurfi, 64, said "she has not only made them proud but has showed that it’s never too late to seek knowledge. I feel proud, because she spent her early years guiding and teaching us how to read and write, with no formal education. I got my degree 41 years ago in 1975, so for my mother to do this at her age, it is both amazing and heart-warming”. 

Hajiya Kurfi spoke about life after graduation if she would further her education: “Ah, I don’t think I can do that. This is enough, but I can still research at home because my husband is a teacher and has written several books which I can go further with.”

Source: Daily Trust