A Granny Proves Learning Has No Age Bar And A Farmer's Son Makes It To Cornell University

There is no age bar for learning: A 50-year-old woman from Meghalaya has proved that yet again. A school dropout and a grandmother to two, Lakyntiew Syiemlieh from Meghalaya cleared the class 12 exams this week.

Petrified of mathematics, Syiemlieh had left studies in 1988. But she rediscovered her love for learning when she was offered a teacher’s job at a pre-school in 2008. She enrolled herself in a distance learning course offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in 2015.

On Monday, Syiemlieh, who had opted for the humanities, cleared the Meghalaya board’s Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate exam. “I got a third division but I am very happy,” Syiemlieh told The Indian Express. She now wants to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Khasi.

Given her can-do spirit, we are sure she will again succeed.

Sources: PTI, The Indian Express

Reaching for the stars

The story of Anurag Tiwari, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, is inspirational, to say the least. Tiwari, who has secured 98.2 per cent in his class 12 CBSE exams, has made it to Cornell University, an Ivy-League university, on a 100 per cent scholarship. His father Kamlapati Tiwari is a marginal farmer while mother Sangeeta Tiwari is a homemaker.

Tiwari went to a primary school in his village, Sarasan, till class 5 before qualifying for a rural leadership academy in Sitapur district that mentors meritorious students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds from rural UP, reports The Times of India (ToI).

Tiwari’s SAT score was 1370 out of 1600 and he applied to Cornell University in December last year—and was successful. Tiwari, who is a fan of cricketer M.S. Dhoni, will study economics and mathematics. “My decision to study the humanities was questioned by many who felt it was not suitable for boys,” Tiwari told ToI.

Source: The Times of India