By Veena Bharwani

GROW up, go to university, get married and then have a baby?

Ms Norainee Mohidu, 28, decided to shake things up by getting married first, having a baby, then getting her university degree.

She graduated from the Singapore Management University (SMU) last week with a High Merit Degree in Social Sciences.

Though five years older than her classmates, she has no regrets about taking a much longer time to get her degree.

She said: 'I am much more mature today than I was five years ago. Perhaps if I did my degree earlier, I might not have done as well.

'I got married and even spent some time starting a family. All these things are very important to me as well.'

Her complicated educational journey began in 2001, when she obtained a diploma from Singapore Polytechnic.She applied to a local university at that point, but was rejected.

Immediately, she applied to do her A levels as a private candidate.

'I always wanted to go to university - that was always my aim. My plans just got delayed a bit,' she said.

Surprised herself

She surprised herself by doing very well in her A-level exams in 2002 by scoring 2As and 2Bs. In the same year, she got married to her boyfriend, whom she met in polytechnic.

In 2003, she got into the National University of Singapore's business programme but she did not enjoy the course.

Despite criticism from her family and friends, she dropped out of the course the following year.

'It was a very hard decision to make. I was actually admitted into the University Scholars Programme so my friends asked me to rethink my decision many times,' she said.

She switched to SMU's Arts and Social Sciences programme in 2005. There, she continued to face unique challenges.

'I got pregnant in 2006 and it was completely unexpected. It threw me off the loop again,' she said.

'I suffered from morning sickness during the early part of my pregnancy and that was really tough.'

She said that she often had quizzes in the beginning of lectures and her friends used to wonder where she was.

She recalled with a laugh: 'They would SMS me, and I'd reply 'give me 10 minutes, I'm throwing up in the toilet'.'

Rearranged classes

When her husband was involved in an accident and was hospitalised, she even rearranged her classes so she could take care of him.

The unending complications did not end when she gave birth to her son Ameer in 2007. She then had to juggle taking care of a newborn, writing essays and studying at the same time.

She recalled: 'I would write my essays late at night when my son was asleep. But I could not get up in the mornings to go for lessons. It was really tough.

'I would end up skipping some classes too as I could not bear to leave him on some days. He would cry and I would turn around and walk back into the house.'

She confessed that her grades slipped from a B+ average to a B- average when she was struggling with motherhood and its challenges.

However, she credits her husband for supporting her throughout the toughest periods. 'When I had to write essays, he would take would take care of the baby so I could concentrate,' she said.

She said the reason it took so long for her to get her degree is because she places equal importance on her education and her role as mother and wife.

That was why she decided to take another year off from SMU last year to follow her husband to Australia when he went to do his degree in Sports Science.

Now, Ms Norainee plans to become a teacher. The reason?

'It is the most baby-friendly job for me,' she said.

This article was first published in The New Paper.