Some children might take still more time to get used to online classes, but for 106-year old Bhageerathi Amma and 98-year old Karthiyayani Amma, these are now part and parcel of their lives now. Winners of the Central Government’s Nari Shakti Puraskar and students of the seventh standard equivalency course now, both of them have their eyes now firmly set on completing tenth standard equivalency tests.
The State Literacy Mission has made elaborate arrangements for taking forward their equivalency courses during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Since regular classes are impossible, online sessions are provided through the ‘Aksharam’ YouTube channel of the literacy mission. Soft copies of the lessons for each month are set to the students through literacy preraks.
Education Minister C. Ravindranath had presented a laptop to Karthiyayani Amma from Alappuzha for scoring 98 out of 100 marks and securing the first rank in the ‘Akshara laksham’ literacy examination conducted by the mission.
“Since she has a laptop, it is quite helpful. Whenever she gets time, she spends it on learning from the material uploaded in the mission's website. She intently listens to the video tutorials in the YouTube channel and takes down notes,” says Sathi, Karthiyayani Amma's teacher.
Bhageerathi Amma from Kollam accesses the online lessons with the help of her teacher Sherly, with whom she studies with her room doors shut, to keep away all the noise from the grandchildren at home. She has already set a sort of record by completing the fourth standard equivalency examination at the age of 105.
Both of them were presented with the Nari Shakti Puraskar by the President at a function organised in New Delhi earlier this year as part of Women’s day. The duration of the seventh standard equivalency course is eight months. Once they successfully complete it, they can join tenth standard equivalency, which they are now sure of completing.
