Photos: A 50-year-old Nigerian school pupil shows it's never too late to learn
Shade Ajayi, aged 50, had never set foot in a classroom until middle age. In a pink dress and bonnet
Shade Ajayi, aged 50, had never set foot in a classroom until middle age. In a pink dress and bonnet that now make up her uniform, she is happily learning to read and write alongside students aged 11 to 13 in Kwara state, Nigeria. As a child, Ajayi worked in her aunt's shop instead of attending school. She now runs her own business making and selling purses and bags. Ajayi signed up to attend school in the last academic year, only for it to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. But schools reopened in January and Ajayi finally got her chance.
Published on Apr 02, 2021 03:46 PM IST 8 Photos
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Shade Ajayi, 50, chats with some of her classmates after class, at Ilorin Grammar school, in Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria on March 24. Ajayi had never set foot in a classroom until middle age. Now 50, the businesswoman is happily learning to read and write alongside students nearly four decades younger than her.(Temilade Adelaja / REUTERS)
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Shade Ajayi raises her hand to answer a question during class at Ilorin Grammar School in Ilorin, on March 25. Sitting at a wooden desk while donning the pink dress and bonnet that make up her uniform, Ajayi joins hundreds of similarly dressed pupils aged 11 to 13 at a school in Ilorin, in Nigeria's western Kwara state.(Temilade Adelaja / REUTERS)
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Ajayi working in her shop in Ilorin on March 25. As a child, she worked in her aunt's shop instead of attending school. She now runs her own business making and selling purses and bags, but believes her inability to read or write is holding her back.(Temilade Adelaja / REUTERS)
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Ajayi in her shop in Ilorin on March 25. She signed up to attend school in the last academic year, only for it to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. But schools reopened in January and Ajayi finally got her chance.(Temilade Adelaja / REUTERS)
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