Bhageerathi Amma, Kerala's Oldest Student Who Passed Class 4 At The Age Of 105, Passes Away

Bhageerathi Amma, a native of Prakkulam in Kollam district, has passed away on Friday. At 107, she was known as the oldest student in Kerala.

Bhageerathi Amma had passed her class 4 equivalency examination at age of 105.  She was next preparing to attend her seventh standard equivalency examination this year.

The Bharata Nareesakthi awardee hailed from Prak Clam in the Column district. Amma made headlines nationwide when she had appeared for the fourth standard equivalency examination conducted by the state’s literacy mission in 2019. With this, she had become the oldest "equivalency learner" of the Kerala State Literacy Mission Programme scoring 205 out of the total 275 marks. She had also scored 100 percent in Mathematics.

Amma was struggling with health-related issues for one month due to her old age. She had breathed her last at 1.55 am today at her residence in Prakkulam, Kollam. She is survived by five children and grandmother to 13, ZeeNews reported. Read more about her here.

Bhageerathi Amma, who loved poetry and music, had to quit her formal education at the age of nine, when her mother passed away, leaving younger siblings under her care. She was only nine then. She was in class three and took care of her siblings. Married at the age of 15, she could not complete her education due to motherhood and widowhood in her 30s.

Amma had to bring up her six children alone. Later, she lost one of her six children and three of her fifteen grandchildren. She was living with her youngest daughter during her last days. Her last wish was to finish Level 10 equivalency exams under the state literacy mission.

Amma reportedly took three days to complete three question papers on Environmental Science, Mathematics and Malayalam since she had been facing difficulties in writing. Her youngest daughter Thankamani Amma, who is 67-year-old, aided her during the exams so that she could finish writing without any hindrance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mentioned her in his Maan ki Baat programme for her achievement and congratulated her for her remarkable feat.

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