Basanti Muduli, a tribal Anganwadi worker in Malkangiri has cleared her 10th board exams along with her son, 18 years after dropping out of school. After having stopped her education following marriage, Muduli was always regretting having failed the exams. Now at the age of 36, she has cleared the exam conducted by the Odisha State Open School scoring 203 marks and passing with a D-grade. She said: “My failure in clearing the matric exam always rankled me. I also realized that without clearing the matric, I possibly could not get any promotion.”

Muduli has emerged as an inspiration to many. Her husband Laba Pattanayak says he would like his wife to continue studying. Their son Sibananda passed in the first attempt scoring 340 marks. Muduli was helped by both of them to study. She said: “I used to study from the books of my son. He used to teach me everything that was taught at the school.” One hopes that Muduli will act as an impetus to motivate many more to pursue their dreams.