Determination to Learn That Defied Age

Karthyayani Amma proved that age is never a barrier to learning and became an inspiration to millions. Born in 1922 in Cheppad, near Haripad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, she could not attend school as a child because of poverty. She worked as a temple sweeper and domestic help and was married at a young age. She later became a mother of six children and took on the responsibility of supporting her family after her husband’s death, without ever getting an opportunity to become literate.

Her daughter Ammini Amma, who completed a Kerala State Literacy Mission course at around 60, inspired her to pursue education. Motivated by the thought, “If my daughter can do it, why can’t I?”, Karthyayani Amma joined the ‘Aksharalaksham’ programme conducted by the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority in 2018 at the age of 96. With help from her grandchildren, she learned reading, writing and mathematics and appeared for the examination in August along with around 40,000 other candidates.

She scored an impressive 98 out of 100 and became the oldest student in Kerala to top the state-level literacy examination. She secured full marks in reading and mathematics and lost only two marks in writing. Her achievement brought her national recognition, and she received a certificate of merit from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. She later passed an examination equivalent to Class 4 and expressed her desire to pursue a Class 10-equivalent examination and learn computers. In 2020, she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar from President Ram Nath Kovind on International Women’s Day and was also selected as a Commonwealth of Learning Goodwill Ambassador. She passed away on October 10, 2023, at the age of 101.