By law, all Indian school children are meant to receive free education till they are 14 years old.
But in practice… many children don’t go to school because their parents are uneducated and don’t appreciate the value of a good education.
But a shopkeeper in the capital New Delhi is trying to change this. He teaches poor children in a make-shift school under a railway bridge.
Rajesh Kumar’s day job is selling household items in his shop.
But his real passion is teaching.
He set up this make-shift school under a railway bridge in New Delhi to provide basic education to children, aged from 4 to 14.
The students here are children of rubbish pickers, rickshaw pullers and labourers.
On their way to the school, the students say they want to learn how to read and write... because they want to become doctors or join the army.
“This is not officially a school, it has not been registered. The students come only for two hours. We used to run another school but a mall was built on the land. As this one is under the railway bridge, the children are safe here.”
Rajesh has no professional teaching qualifications.
He wasn’t even able to complete the final year of his Bachelor degree because of financial problems.
All of the school equipment can be packed into one big box and there are no desks or chairs.
The railway bridge acts as a “roof’’ for the school, while rugs are laid out across the stone floor to make a class room.
“The school is very close to the slums where these poor children live. The aim is to make them independent, curious and confident so that they can change the course of their future. After class they either go home or to work.”
There are 60 students who come to the classes here. One of them is 12-year-old Babar Ali.
After school he works in a nearby restaurant to support his family who are extremely poor.
He doesn’t go to a normal school which runs for six hours a day, but come here because the classes only last two hours.
“I want to become a doctor someday because I like numbers and I like the sound of English when I speak the words.”
Ajay Mandal used to come to the railway school. He says studying with Rajesh helped him to pass the exam needed to get into a good government school.
He’s now in the 8th grade in a public school.
“Because of this school we can get admission to the top government schools in the city. The teacher taught us many things including moral values. Now we are heading towards a prosperous future.”
School is over for the day. Children return to their homes… some go to work…
“The children are getting free education and books,” says Jai Prakash Yadav, a tuk tuk driver, who has come to pick up his 4-year-old son Shiv.
“They are busy and learning new things and all is well.”
Rajesh also leaves for his shop.
“Now I am going back to work to earn money for my family after serving the community.”
