[attach id=265685 size="medium"]Engineering student John Casha Photo by: Chris Sant Fournier[/attach]

When John Casha tried to register online for a course at the university, the system would not let him – every time he tried to insert his birth year it told him he had made an error.

“They only had years down to 1930 and I was born in 1928,” says Mr Casha. He was not about to let his 85 years stand in the way of his studying so he went to enrol for the engineering course in person – and earned himself the title of the oldest freshman on campus.

When he was a youngster – the oldest of eight siblings – university was out of his reach: “I could never dream of doing that in my time. University was then only for the elite”.

Still, mechanical engineering was his life. At 14 he won a coveted scholarship for the dockyard apprenticeship training course, and he never looked back.

With all his experience, why did he feel the need to get a degree? “Engineering was always my life, but I felt that I could not be called an engineer by today’s qualifications,” he says.

Also, without studying projects, the father of four and grandfather of nine was feeling at a loss. “So I thought if I enrolled in this course I could help the young ones and help myself in the bargain,” he says.

He was accepted by the department and in his grey suit, starch-white shirt and tie, he swiftly become one of the most recognisable students on campus. Students and lecturers even organised a birthday party with cake and all for his recent 85th.

Of course the first year has had its difficulties. He had some problems with audio in some lecture rooms and he is not very computer literate. But he points out that whereas the other students used calculators for maths he did most of the math-work by rote.

University was then only for the elite

He is happy that other students have accepted him as a “grandfather figure”. His only worry is that they might think of him as teacher’s pet because of his age. “But I do not get any preferential treatment.”

Mr Casha is now waiting for his results to see if he made it through to the second year. “I do need some luck, but I’ll take it step by step.”

Because he gave up driving six years ago, due to his age, he commuted to university by bus from Sliema every day. His wife of 60 years, Lina, knows that books, studying and music are his life.

“She understands that I can never be domesticated,” he quips, then adds with hearty laughter: “But she thinks I’m mad.”

He is proud that he is flying high the kite of senior citizenship and fervently believes that experience should be passed on “or else it dies with you”.

One of his hopes is that one day the government will set up an “Ask a Grandpa” think tank made up of senior citizens. “So that our experience and our traditions are not lost – we can be a reference point for future generations.”

Because of his age, he can easily take stock of the changes throughout the decades. “Human nature is what it is – it does not change much,” he says. “However World War II was a shock for people and it left its impact on the values of society.”

Values do tend to change, however, and sometimes for the worse – particularly the value of respect. “That seems to be lacking so much these days. I have worked with people from different strata of society – from lower deck to admirals – and respect is the key word,” he says.

He also worries that Maltese is being spoken less and less and that the standard of English has gone down. “Happily the standard of living has gone up, and it is a joy to see women empowered in society. Both genders are equal in their dignity”.

As a culture buff, his only regret is that the Royal Opera House – where he saw Verdi’s Vespri Siciliani with his father – was never rebuilt. “And I know now that I will die with this regret because it will never be rebuilt.”

However he is full of hope for the budding generation. As he looks around him in one of the engineering department lobbies, where projects by final year students were exhibited, he describes it as marvellous.

“I am a mere spectator and admirer – but it’s incredible what progress has been made in these 50 years.”

The engineering exhibition at the Engineering department is open to the public.

More information on um.edu.mt/eng