When it comes to education, age is no bar in this Maharashtra school for grandmothers

The Aajibaichi Shala has students between the ages of 60 and 90.
When it comes to education, age is no bar in this Maharashtra school for grandmothers
When it comes to education, age is no bar in this Maharashtra school for grandmothers
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The Aajibaichi Shala in Maharashtra's Thane district has a total of 27 pupils, with eight more expected to join soon. 

The eager students are taught to read, write and multiply in Marathi. 

What sets this school apart from others is that it’s meant especially for grandmothers. The pink saree-clad students who attend classes here are between the ages of 60 and 90.

The school moved to a bigger plot on Republic Day this year, Hindustan Times's Madhusree Ghosh reported. 

Aajibaichi Shala was started last year on International Women's Day by Yogendra Bangar, a local zilla parishad teacher and activist, with the help of Dilip Dalal, the founder of Motiram Dalal Charitable Trust.

"I started this school after one of the grandmothers said to me that she wished she could read at least the holy books. That’s when I felt the need to do this," Bangar told HT. 

90-year-old Sitabai Deshmukh, the oldest among the students in her school, is at times walked to school by her eight-year-old granddaughter. 

"Never in my long life had I thought I would get a chance to go to a school. When I was young, my family was poor and girls didn’t have the chance to go to schools. I have had a new life for the last year," she told the paper.

The women are happy to have moved to a bigger space and the founders also expect that this will encourage more women from neighbouring villages to join the school.

Read the full report here.

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