Night schools often attract working professionals who carve out time for academics to move up the career ladder. But for many adult learners, returning to school is driven as much by emotion as ambition, especially the weight carried by a Std X or XII board certificate.

Rajesh Sawant, 41, left his education early to take up work and later joined a political party. “As a young adult, I never thought education was important and kept hopping between jobs. When the world started changing, I didn’t realise how crucial education would become,” he said. Now preparing for his Std XII exams, Sawant hopes to complete his schooling before his daughter, currently in first grade, reaches Std X.