Kolkata, May 12 (IANS): Age is no bar for learning, nor are the walls of a jail. Condemned to prison life nearly eight years ago as an illiterate, Bhola Malakar at 53 now boasts of a Madhyamik (Class 10) degree.

Malakar, sentenced to serve a decade of his life behind bars, is one of the 29 prisoners to have cleared the Madhyamik exams in West Bengal, the results of which were declared on Wednesday.

Having walked into the Alipore Central Correctional Home (CCH) nearly eight years ago as an illiterate, Malakar's tryst with books and alphabets began within the four walls of his cell.

"Malakar, perhaps is the oldest successful candidate in the state. He has truly proved that age cannot be a bar if you want to learn," said Alipore Correctional Home superintendent D. Chakraborty.

Malakar's fellow inmate Sheikh Khairul who is serving a life sentence also passed the exams.

"All the three inmates of the Alipore CCH have cleared the exams," added Chakraborty.

A total of 30 inmates - 20 convicts and 10 undertrials - appeared for the examination. All but one cleared them.