105-year-old grandmother becomes ’oldest learner’ in Kerala,writes exams for Class 4

105-year-old grandmother becomes ’oldest learner’ in Kerala,writes exams for Class 4

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 23, 2019:  A 105-year-old woman from Kerala has proved that there is no age to start learning. Bhageerathi Amma, who had to give up her education after her mother passed away to take care of her siblings, recently appeared for the fourth standard equivalency exam conducted by the state literacy mission.

 

The woman had left her formal education at the age of 9 when she was in class 3. Later, she lost her husband when she was in her 30s and the entire responsibility of bringing up six children fell on her shoulders. She has 12 grand and great-grandchildren.


Bhageerathi who took the fourth standard exam at her home in Kollam became the oldest ’equivalency learner’ in the Kerala State Literacy Mission programme to date, Mission Director, PS Srikala said.

Since the centenarian had difficulty in writing, she took three days to complete three question papers on Environment, Mathematics and Malayalam, Vasanth Kumar, Mission’s Resource person, told PTI.

The elderly woman has a sharp memory and has no problems relating to vision. She sings well.

Bhageerathi, who always yearned to study and gain knowledge, was excited to appear for her exams.

The grandmother has not received her widow and old-age pension as she has no Aadhaar card. She hopes that the authorities would take steps to make sure that she gets the pension.

Last year, 96-year-old Karthiyayani Amma had secured 98 marks out of 100 in a literacy exam held in Kerala. She was the oldest candidate who took the "Aksharalaksham", a flagship programme of the state-run Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority.

According to the 2011 census, about 18.5 lakh people in the state were illiterate.