A middle age woman who got her high school leaving certificate (apolytirio) with top honours decades after she left school was on Tuesday congratulated by Education Minister Athena Michaelidou.

Anastasia Constantinou who graduated by attending classes at night school.

Michaelidou said she was a source of inspiration for every citizen.

Constantinou said completing her education had been “a lifelong dream”, one that “everyone is capable of achieving, as long as there is a will”.

The minister emphasised the importance of strengthening the evening school as part of the overall educational system, as it gives a second chance and opens the door to people whose circumstances denied them the completion of their education.

“When personal effort meets a government that creates real opportunities, then education becomes a force for change for individuals and for society,” Michaelidou said.

Evening school represents one of the most significant manifestations of this aim, and is thus “a key pillar of social cohesion and personal development”, she added.

“Education never ends,” Constantinou said.