Thiruvananthapuram: A group of elderly women, unmindful of their failing eye sight and other ailments, in coastal Kerala, is on a mission to learn.
For these women who have never been to school, the state government’s ‘Aksharasagaram’ project for improving literacy levels in panchayats in the coastal areas has come as a boon.
“I want to study till I breathe my last,” 86-year-old Maniyeri Madhaviamma from Trikaripur in Kerala’s northernmost Kasaragod said, despite her failing eyesight. Echoing similar sentiments is Biyathumma, 81, from Malappuram and 80-year-old Vyakulamma from Thiruvananthapuram.
All the three are among the 3,746 candidates, including men, who took the literacy examination here this month under the Aksharasagaram project.
The project is being implemented by the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) in association with the Fisheries department.
In the first phase, 81 coastal wards from 15 panchayats of Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram and Kasaragod districts were selected for the project, P.S. Sreekala, KSLMA director, said.
Ninety per cent of women in different age groups from the coastal areas have taken the exam.
In Malappuram, a Muslim dominated area, it was like a celebration for women to attend the classes, she said.
“This has given us lot of positive energy and we are hopeful more women from the muslim community will come for the classes,” she said.
In the coastal belt of Thiruvananthapuram, 1,646 candidates appeared for the examination held on May 21 and the seniormost was Vyakulamma.
This was the first examination of her life, said P. Prashant, state coordinator of the project, said.
