Meghalaya grandmother clears 12th grade 32 years after dropping out

Mathematics was too difficult for Lakyntiew Syiemlieh who dropped out in 1988

Lakyntiew Syiemleh, a 50-year-old grandmother from Meghalaya recently cleared her class 12th board examination.

She gave the Meghalaya Board's Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSLLC) examinations, results for which were declared earlier today.

She was the oldest student at Balawan College in RiBhoi district, which she attended for two years. She wore the school uniform, just as any other student would, while attending college there.

“I am so happy to have cleared the examinations,” she informed PTI, adding on to say, “I stopped going to school because mathematics was too difficult for me to understand. I was offered a job to teach pre-schoolers in 2008 and that was the beginning of my love for re-learning.”

In 2015, she took a distance learning course offered by IGNOU.

She was congratulated by the Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui, who said,” Age is not an issue when one is in search of education. Lakyntiew Syiemlieh is an example for everybody and especially those who give up studies midway. I congratulate her and appreciate her hard work and dedication.”

Syiemleh’s story has won hearts on social media and she had spent the day responding to congratulatory messages from friends and family.

(With inputs from PTI)