SEBERANG PERAI: Age is never a barrier when it comes to learning.

At the age of 53, Wang Ming Lai studies electrical and electronic engineering at the Seberang Perai Polytechnic.

Wang, from Sungai Puyu, is the most senior among 400 new students at Seberang Perai Polytechnic after completing SPM recently as a private student.

Losing his father at the age of nine, Wang’s two elder sisters ended up working as apprentices in hair salons.

Wang, third among six other siblings, left school after completing SRP to work.

His mother was earning RM400 a month then and the income was insufficient to support a family.

After his mother passed away three years ago, Wang, still single, decided to sit for SPM.

He failed the first time and sat for SPM again the following year.

Wang passed SPM on the second attempt but no institutions of higher learning offered him a place due to his age.

Wang sat for SPM the third time in year 2020.

This time, his SPM results improved and he was accepted for a certificate course at a Seberang Jaya community college.

“I applied for savings in the Employee’s Provident Fund to study. It was quite difficult to study again. Many think that with my age I will not be able to achieve much in my career even if I complete my studies.

“But I still want to achieve my dream of completing my studies,” he said.

Wang aspires to continue studying for higher qualification.

Seberang Jaya Polytechnic director Harith Fadzilah Abd Khalid praised Wang for his zest in learning and said he is a role model for other students.