Cairo: A Saudi man in his 80s has lent a fresh credence to the saying that goes, "never too old to learn".
At 88, Ali Jadhmi has recently generated a lot of media attention and admiration as he sat for the secondary school examinations at the end of the first semester in Jazan in south-western Saudi Arabia among colleagues who are as young as his grandchildren.
Known affectionately as Amm (uncle) Ali, he said he has not encountered any difficulty in returning to school since the primary stage.
When asked about competing with his fellow young students at school, he said in an interview with the Saudi television Al Ekhbariya that he was a top class student at the middle school, and that he intended to continue and pursue studies at university.
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He contended that knowledge does not recognise age. "Old age is not an obstacle to study and gain knowledge. Take knowledge from the cradle to the grave, and from the inkwell to the tomb," Amm Ali said in another interview with Al Arabiya TV.
He advised old people to pursue studies "because knowledge knows no age".
Several old Saudis have recently defied advance in age and went to the class. One of them is Fatema Zayed, 102, who attended a local literacy course.
Fatema joined her 95-year-old sister, three daughters, and a sister-in-law in attending the summer course in Al Makhawah governorate, part of Al Baha region in south-western Saudi Arabia.
Despite relying on a walking stick, Fatema eagerly embraced the opportunity after learning about the course from her daughters.
“We all missed out on school, so none of us know how to read and write,” she was quoted by the Saudi news portal Sabq as saying.
“Deciding to join the class was a big step for us. We didn’t expect to receive such wonderful support,” she added.
