YAOUNDE (Reuters) - A Cameroonian man who dropped out of school in 1940 has passed his primary school exam at the age of 75, state radio in the Central African country reported on Thursday. ``I had very much wanted to pass this exam so as to command more respect from within the village council,'' the man, whose name was given as Atangana, told the radio after receiving his First School Leaving Certificate in Bertoua in East Province. Children start school between the ages of four and six in Cameroon and normally get the certificate after about seven years of study. Atangana, a pupil of the Catholic Literacy Centre, said he hoped his perseverance would help him find peace with God. ``You know, at 75, my days in this world are numbered. That is why I wanted to learn how to read and write so that I can read and understand the Bible, the word of God. In these old days I want to reconcile myself with God,'' he said.