Authorities in Gakenke district this week announced an ambitious week of having a literate population by the end of next year.The figures from the district mayor suggest that this is possible, having reduced the number from 18,000 to 6,000 in just a few years.The pretext under which some people have dodged adult literacy classes has been age but experience has taught us that with determination one can learn, their age notwithstanding.We have seen elderly people who even go an extra-mile to attend conventional schools and compete with children young enough to be their grand children—and some have excelled. So with basics like reading, writing and counting, age should not come up as an excuse.  Such initiatives, therefore, should be replicated countrywide. And cost for this rather important investment in the population should be minimised by the continued reliance on secondary leaving students –as part of the recently introduced national service.