Guwahati, Sept. 29 -- At 59, Sylvester Shadap is preparing to return to the examination hall-37 years after he dropped out of school.

Shadap, from Thadrang Umngem village in Ri Bhoi district, is the oldest among 9,767 former school dropouts who have registered as private candidates for the December 2026 Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination under Meghalaya's Second Chance Learning Programme.

He left school in 1989 and, for years, believed that his opportunity to continue his education had passed.

"I dropped out of school in 1989, so it has been approximately 37 years since then. Honestly, I knew within myself that coming back for further studies was over," Shadap said.

But he has now decided to take the SSLC examinat...