PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Ramnagar
For the past six years, the English lecturer Navendu Mathpal of Government Inter College, Dhela has been working to bring children of labourers and waste-picker families into the mainstream of education.
With the support of a teachers’ organisation, he is currently running three evening schools in rural Ramnagar, where more than 400 children are receiving free education. He has also invested nearly Rs 25 lakh from his personal savings to strengthen the initiative.
The campaign began on November 26, 2020, on the occasion of Constitution Day, with the Jyotiba Phule Evening School at Puchhari. The school was started for children of labourer families affected by the Kosi floods in October 2020. Initially, classes were held in a makeshift hut, but gradually more children from labourer and waste-picker families joined the initiative.
In January 2021, the Savitribai Phule Evening School was started in Patarani village, adjoining Corbett National Park. A computer training centre was also established there for girls. The initiative helped more than 200 children enrol in nearby government schools in 2021.
Later, a third evening school was started at Sawal De West for children from the Buksa community. Mathpal purchased land from his personal savings to expand the initiative. More than 100 children are currently studying at the school.
All three schools are being run with public support. Besides free education, the children are provided with educational material and warm clothes during winter. Experts are also invited from time to time to introduce the children to theatre, cinema and environmental activities.
Local youths volunteer as teachers, while teachers associated with the organisation extend academic and other support.
Mathpal said that the objective was not merely to teach children, but to ensure that those from economically and socially disadvantaged families get an opportunity to continue their education and build a better future.
