Aged 96, Keralite tops literacy exam

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Kerala’s achievements on the literacy front got their latest feather in the cap from an unlikely quarter — a 96-year-old woman who sat for a statewide literacy test last week beat 43,330 people who took the test, topping with 98 marks out of 100.

The nonagenarian, Karthiyani Amma, hails from Haripad in Alappuzha district, famed for its backwaters and the houseboats that ply on its serene waters.

Out of the 42,933 who passed the ‘Aksharalaksham’ (Malayalam for “literacy for the masses”) examination conducted by the Kerala State Literacy Mission, Amma topped the list of successful candidates.

Amma was the star attraction at an event earlier last week in the state capital, when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan felicitated the toppers.

The examination that she passed is equivalent to Class 4, and she said she hoped to continue studying to the level of Class 10.

Asked what she intended to do after clearing the Class 10 examination, Amma readily answered: “Perhaps get a job after that.”

Aksharalaksham particularly targets marginalised groups like tribal persons, the fishermen community and other less-privileged sections of society.

In early 1991, Kerala made global headlines when the state was declared, according to Unesco norms, a fully-literate state, which technically means over 90 per cent of the population are literate.