Seventy-six-year-old student acquires his master's degree

Seventy-six-year-old Lin Tseng-kun has his graduation photo taken with his classmates on Saturday after earning his master's degree from National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology. PHOTO: WANG JUNG-HSIANG, TAIPEI TIMES

One of the 2,000 students graduating from National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology on Saturday was 76-year-old Lin Tseng-kun, who acquired his master's degree in Applied Japanese.

As a young man, Lin only finished vocational school, but he went back to school after his retirement more than 10 years ago.

Lin said that he thought he had probably contracted "study sickness" as after his retirement he has been unable to stop.

However, he said that he would not continue on to get a PhD, as studying for a master's had been very hard on him because he also has to look after his wife, who has dementia.

Although he will not continue his formal education, Lin said he would continue to study in his own time.

Lin said with a smile that as he was born in 1931, he had been a Japanese citizen for 15 years.

He had a better foundation in Japanese than most younger students and reading primary sources in Japanese wasn't a big problem for him, he said.

Because his wife's health is not good, the only time Lin was able to study and do homework was when his wife was asleep, or when one of their children or grandchildren could look after her.

A growing number of elderly people are returning to school after retirement. Last year, a 76-year-old architect surnamed Weng (翁) graduated from Shih Chien University. With his experience as an architect, Weng plans to build a village for the elderly where they can enjoy a pleasant retirement. He studied at Shih Chien to acquire a master's degree in health care for the elderly.

Media reports have also said that an 80-year-old former police officer acquired a master's degree at National Chung Hsing University.