Mother-son duo from Pune clears Class 10 together. Read on for the full story.

Urmila Gaikwad’s story is one of inspiration. As a swimming coach at Orchids The International School, Kharadi, Urmila decided to complete her own education along with her son’s. This ambitious woman had to drop out of school after Class 7 due to some financial reasons, but she turned her life around when she relocated to Pune with her husband and son in 2007.

Urmilla’ story from Swimming Pool Cleaner to Swimming Coach

When Urmilla started working as a swimming pool cleaner, she suddenly became interested in learning to swim herself and decided to become an instructor. With the help of her then-manager, she completed her certification course in 2011. After that, she started participating in competitions and receiving accolades. In 2011, she also started working as a professional swimming coach in various schools.

Why did Urmilla decide to complete her education?

She progressed quickly as a coach but faced difficulty communicating with the children she was training. She realized that her confidence was low as she hadn’t completed her education during childhood. 

Most of the good schools refused her candidature as a swimming coach owing to her insufficient school education. These hurdles only made her more resilient, and she decided to overcome them by enrolling herself as a private student in Class 10 while her son was also studying in the same grade as a regular student.

Clearing Class 10

Urmila’s determination resulted in her passing the exam with 45% marks. This was enough motivation for her to continue and enroll as a regular student in Class 11 along with her son. Despite what others thought of her, she did exceptionally well on her Class 12 board exam and scored 71%.

Urmila has always been a motivated individual, and her desire to learn and achieve has not wavered throughout her life. Even now, she is continuing her education by learning communicative English and pursuing a graduate degree in the arts. For the females in her family, Urmila has also been an excellent role model. Her co-sister was so inspired by Urmila’s journey and achievements that she decided to enroll in Class 12 exams herself.