Malappuram man clears Class 10 at 50 years, embarks on PhD at 60

Edakkara (Malappuram): Ten years ago, at the age of 50, Abdul Karim Bakhavi passed his Class 10 equivalency examination. He has now cleared the NET exam as well.

He completed Class 10 in 2015 through the equivalency course at Edakkara Government High School, later passing Plus Two through the same route. He went on to earn both BA and an MA in Arabic through distance education from the University of Calicut, securing high marks.

Now, the madrasa teacher named Abdul Karim Bakhavi from Thannikkadavu, Malappuram, is preparing to begin his PhD studies. His research focus will be Sufism. He has already submitted his synopsis to the Department of Arabic at the University of Calicut. Scholar Kakkad Muhammed Faizy has been his guide in both the Sufi path and his academic journey.

As a child, he lived at Chempankolly, Uppada, and studied initially in Chungathara, about 20 km away. The difficulty of travelling that distance forced him to abandon formal schooling midway.

He later turned to religious education and went on to teach at Arabic College, Perumpadappu; Eramangalam Al Furqan Arabic College, and Shamsul Ulama Academy, Wayanad. He also worked as a teacher and manager at Crescent School, Maranchery, and the Anwarssery institutions in Kollam. He is currently a teacher at Poovathikkal Madrasa in Edakkara.

Karim Bakhavi says he intends to continue studying.