105-year-old Bhageerathi Amma who made headlines by becoming the oldest equivalency course student in the history of the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority has cleared all her Class 4 papers. She had attempted the equivalency examination, which included three papers in Malayalam, English, Environment and Mathematics, with the help of KSLMA resource persons last November. The result of the examination was announced on Wednesday and she scored 205 out of 275 marks.
Bhageerathi Amma dropped out of school after Class III to take care of her younger siblings and could not complete her education. Widowed at a very young age, she never got another chance as she was busy raising her six children. She returned to the classroom in 2019, nearly a century after she left it, through KSLMA’s equivalency course.
She completed the course with the help of resource persons S.N Shirley and K.B. Vasanthakumar while her 70-year-old daughter Thankamani offered all the support. According to her resource persons, the centenarian is a smart student who is very keen on continuing her studies. The Class 4 equivalency examination was attempted by 11,593 candidates. The pass percentage stood at 86% with 10,012 candidates clearing the exam. Of the successful candidates, 9,456 were women. Pathanamthitta, where 385 candidates sat for the exam, scored 100% success.
In October 2018, 96-year-old Karthyayini Amma of Cheppad had grabbed headlines by scoring 98 marks out of 100 in the Aksharalaksham exam conducted by the mission.