Budhlada (Punjab): For most of us, earning a master’s degree is a defining academic achievement we proudly mention in our curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé. But what if someone had Master’s degrees in 21 disciplines? How would such a CV even read? If your care to know, Vijay Kumar's résumé is probably the one and only example.
Principal of Government Senior Secondary School - Boys, Budhlada, Vijay Kumar, has achieved the distinction of completing post graduation in 21 subjects across various disciplines and he is currently pursuing the 22nd. He has also been honoured by the President for participating in social activities.
Vijay Kumar’s quest for knowledge began at Guru Nanak College, Budhlada, where he first developed a deep love for learning. Since then, he has pursued degrees relentlessly, earning 17 master’s degrees from Punjab University, Patiala, and additional qualifications from Lovely Professional University (Jalandhar), IGNOU (Delhi), and Jain University.
"I graduated from Guru Nanak College, Budhlada from where I developed the interest to acquire more knowledge in varied disciplines," says Vijay Kumar who is an avid reader and has so far read more than 2500 books. He also collects newspapers of different languages from across continents. "My home is a library in itself," says he.
Despite his responsibilities as a school principal, he continues to study, believing that “education is a treasure no one can steal.”
Apart from academics, the 'perpetual student' Vijay Kumar engages in over 100 social organisations, which frequently honour him for his contributions. His commitment to education and social service has earned him the State Award and multiple district-level recognitions.
While Vijay Kumar's son is doing engineering, he and his wife are engrossed mostly in books and newspapers. "I hope I am inspiring the younger generations to gain as much knowledge as possible. Education can never end because we keep learning all our lives," he says.
As per Limca Book Of Records, Dr. Ranjit Das (born on February 6, 1964) of Howrah, West Bengal received 23 educational degrees including three Bachelor Degrees, one B.Ed., 13 Master Degrees, three Post Graduation Diplomas, one Post Graduation Certification, one M.Phil. along with one Ph.D., which was confirmed on February 21, 2023.
