104-year-old woman from Kerala, India has passed state literacy test. Her name is Kuttiyamma and she only learned to read and write last year. Despite having just year's tuition and being somewhat older than average pupil, Kuttiyamma passed her tests with flying colours. She achieved score of 89 per cent on Kerala State Literacy Test. Such was her inspirational achievement, Kerala's education minister congratulated her. He tweeted: "With utmost love and respect, I wish Kuttiyamma... best." He uploaded photo of the star student in which she is grinning from ear to ear. Another person tweeted: "I salute Kuttiyamma for her dedication. It will inspire others for sure."
Kerala state has India's highest literacy rate at 96.2 per cent and invests heavily in education. It has strong focus on adult education, which Kuttiyamma benefited from. Her endeavours prove that age is just number and that we can achieve anything when we put our minds to it. Kuttiyamma did not have formal education as she did not go to school. However, her state-assigned tutor called her " very sharp woman". He said his student was "overjoyed" after she saw her test results. state official said: "Kuttiyamma is role model and motivation to all women in adult education". Kuttiyamma said she wants to start writing letters and continue her studies to improve her skills.
