Kerala Tribal Chief S Rajendran Tops Literacy Exams, Scores 96 Marks

Thiruvananthapuram, December 11: Kerala has the highest number of literates in the country. To prove this point, a 66-year-old tribal chief from Achankovil in Kollam emerged as the topper in ‘Samagra’ – a literacy examination in selected tribal hamlets. Scoring 96 marks, among 2,179 tribals residing in 100 hamlets across the state, S Rajendran emerged as the topper.

A farmer by profession, Rajendran has two sons, working as government employees. Briefing more about Rajendran, a Samagra instructor Sreelakshmi stated, as reported by The New Indian Express, “Rajendran’s interest in learning made him join the literacy classes. He is a good singer, and he sings on the way to his classes. From Achankovil hamlet around 25 students wrote the exam.” International Literacy Day 2018: Know The Date, Theme & Significance of United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal

The state government’s Scheduled Tribes Development Department (STDD) joined hands with the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority to implement this literacy programme. The classes which started in March, aimed to decrease the illiteracy in the tribal hamlets with the lowest literacy rates in 283 hamlets.

The government claims to provide social literacy with this programme among the tribal population in the state. Also, after the exam successful candidates will be able to pursue higher studies through equivalency exams. According to the information, Palakkad and Wayanad districts have the highest number of hamlets included in the project- 25 each.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 11, 2018 11:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).