New chapter in life: 74-year-old Thankamma begins B.Com classes

74-year-old Thankamma Kunjappan defies age limits to pursue education, inspiring others with her determination and resilience.

Thankamma Kunjappan, 74, never gave a second thought about pursuing her education again after failing in Class 8 twice, at a school at Idakkoli in Ramapuram panchayat in Kottayam, in the 1960s.

She later got married and shifted to Elanji in Koothattukulam. Life turned a struggle after her husband abandoned her, leaving her to bring up her two children. For Ms. Kunjappan, a beneficiary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the decision to return to education was driven more by necessity rather than desire.

On being told that Class 10 was the necessary qualification to assume the post of ‘mate’ (a supervisor of sorts) under the MGNREGS, she joined the Class 10 equivalent course of the Literacy Mission in her neighbourhood in 2018. Despite clearing Class X with 74% marks, she was denied the ‘mate’ post as she had by then exceeded the age limit of 60.

“But the respect and the reception I received for studying at such advanced age proved a motivation to study further,” said Ms. Kunjappan. After a brief gap, she joined the higher secondary equivalent course in Humanities in 2022 and cleared the exam with 78% marks.

That was when the dream of graduating took shape. Ajith Shaji, a finance professional in her neighbourhood, took up her case with a friend at VISAT Engineering College, Elanji.

The authorities at the VISAT Group of Institutions offered to admit her for B.Com Honours programme at VISAT Arts and Science College affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University. The college authorities waived the entire fee, which comes to around ₹1.60 lakh for the four-year course and offered free conveyance.

“I wanted to do B.A. Malayalam and was initially reluctant to do B.Com, not just because the medium of instruction was English. But the college authorities told me that I could write the exams in Malayalam and also offered to give me the course content in Malayalam,” said Ms. Kunjappan.