Age has nothing to do with education and this 96-year-old Kerala woman Karthiyani Amma has proved it literally.
She was among the 40,440 people who appeared for the literacy examination conducted by India’s Kerala State Literacy Mission on Sunday, August 5.
In comparison to other states of India, Kerala has a higher literacy rate. Literacy mission sources said Karthiyani Amma took the exam at the Cheppad government LP school. About six months ago, the nonagenarian registered herself in the state literacy mission’s “Aksharalaksham” program.
Driven by the urge to read and write, she is the oldest examinee of the state who appeared for the examination at the government lower primary school in Cheppad. She was also tested on reading, writing, and mathematics in the 100-mark paper.
Apart from that, 80 inmates from numerous prisons also wrote the exam.
A mission press release said from Palakkad district, 11,683 people appeared for the exam, in which reading, writing and mathematical abilities of the examinees are tested.
A total of 2,420 members from the scheduled caste community and 946 from scheduled tribe community also took up the exam.