A 60-year-old woman puts on a pink saree every day, picks up a backpack and gets ready for school. No, it isn’t for her child or her grandchild, it’s for herself

One of a kind, this unusual school in Phangane village in Thane, Maharashtra, is a grandmothers’ school, or Aajibaichi Shala. Elderly women from the village, aged between 50 and 90, dress in a uniform of pink sarees and attend two hours of school every day from 2 pm to 4 pm, where they learn how to read and write, and do basic arithmetic.

It was set up by Yogendra Bangar, a local teacher, and the Motiram Dalal Charitable Trust. and opened on March 8, 2016.

In a country where women are already underprivileged when it comes to educational opportunities, elderly women are even worse off.

No wonder the school for grannies has been a huge success. The women have been provided uniforms and school bags containing slate-boards, chalk and textbooks by the charity. Around 30 women enthusiastically attend school every day, where they’re taught by 30-year-old Sheetal More.

“Earlier I used to just put my thumbprint on bank documents. But now I can sign my own name – imagine that! It feels really good. The next time I go to the bank, the officials there will be so impressed,” said Yashoda Kedar, one of the students, to DW.