96-Year-Old Woman Scored Near-Perfect Score in Literacy Test

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According to Trading Economics, the literacy rate among women over 65 years old was only 30.29% in 2018. While the tide is turning for the better, this low number was due to many of these women marrying and starting a family at a young age, in addition to dealing with long-standing gender inequality, limited access to education in rural areas, and systemic poverty. Despite the obstacles, one Indian woman overcame it all by learning to read and write later in life, and proceeding to excel academically. At age 96, Karthyayani Amma became a beacon for women’s education around the world.

Born in the state of Kerala in 1922, Amma had to drop out of school at an early age to start working and supporting her family. She also married young and took jobs as a street sweeper and maid. This was on top of her responsibilities as a mother of six. Once she retired, she moved to a colony for the elderly. There, she decided to take a learning course, mainly inspired by her daughter’s example of acing a literacy test at 60. Amma also took lessons in reading and writing from her great-grandchildren, who were 9 and 12 years old at the time.

Once she was ready, Amma took her first-ever academic test—a literacy exam as part of the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority’s Aksharalaksham program, measuring proficiency in reading, writing, and math. Out of 40,362 participants, she got the top grade with a near-perfect score of 98 out of 100. “I learned so much for no reason. The tests were way too easy for me,” she told The Economic Times.

This achievement translated into accolades and widespread fame. Most notably, she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar award, the highest civilian award for a woman handed out by the government of India, which was presented to her by India’s then-president Ram Nath Kovind. She was also the subject of a documentary titled Barefoot Empress by Indian-American celebrity chef Vikas Khanna. Amma also served as a Commonwealth of Learning Goodwill ambassador starting in 2019, with the mission to spread awareness about distance education and open learning as an option in areas where education is not as accessible for everyone.

Among all the recognition she was getting, Amma’s ambition only grew. She set her sights on a new goal—passing the next level examination, known as Class X equivalency exam, at the age of 100. When the Covid pandemic brought in-classroom education to a pause, she fearlessly dipped into digital resources.

“She spends most of her time in front of the laptop, either reading the online study material or watching [the] ‘Aksharam’ YouTube channel of the Literacy Mission,” Sathi, her literacy instructor, told The New Indian Express. “The channel has a number of pre-recorded classroom videos and she diligently takes notes.”

Amma also wanted to learn English, just like her great-grandchildren who were studying it at the time. Unfortunately, the inspiring woman died at age 101 in 2023, but will always be remembered for exceeding expectations. Following her passing, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, described Amma as “Kerala’s pride and a model person,” since she inspired hundreds of school dropouts to give education another chance. Ultimately, her story is a powerful reminder that it is never too late to pursue your dreams—and that learning may be the most noble goal of all.