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Allahabad:
Carrying a sack on his shoulder, Bhola, 12, a ragpicker, enters
the hostel of Allahabad University. He is there not to collect
discarded items but to become literate under the guidance of a
group of students there.
Students of the Hindu Hostel in Allahabad University have started
a virtual school in their rooms for teaching poor children. Like
Bhola, there are around 30 other impoverished children who visit
the Hindu Hostel regularly to attend classes.
"We get a unique sense of satisfaction while teaching poor
students. We are not doing any extraordinary job; it's actually
our social responsibility," Pramod Sharma, a research scholar at
the university, told IANS.
"Of the 30 children, some are involved in garbage collection while
others sell vegetables and other items on the roadside to eke out
a livelihood," he added.
The hostellers teach the Hindi and English alphabets apart from
mathematical calculations and also lay emphasis on moral
teachings.
"These children come from extremely poor families, where there is
no one to tell them about the importance of moral values. We want
to inculcate moral values in them so that they could become good
human beings," said Amrendra Pratap, another inmate of the Hindu
Hostel, who also teaches marginalised children.
The students usually teach the children three days a week. The
classes start around 5 p.m. and continue for nearly two hours.
"We really enjoy coming here. After our classes get over, 'bhaiyaas'
play with us different indoor games," said Jeetu Kumar, 10, who
lives in a nearby slum.
At present, 13 students, mostly research scholars staying in the
Hindu Hostel, are involved in the noble exercise initiated by
Sharma.
"I have always loved the company of kids, who make you forget all
your worries. It all started five months back when I bought
decorative hangings from some street children living in nearby
slums.
"With regular interactions, I gradually developed a kind of
bonding with them. It was then that I decided to teach them...I
actually wanted to do something constructive for them and thought
that education would be the best tool for that," recalled Sharma.
These scholars generally prefer teaching in the gallery of their
hostel, but on occasions when only a few children turn up, they
don't mind holding classes inside their rooms.
Nearly two months after Sharma began teaching, other hostellers
also joined in.
"Besides teaching the students, we also provide them stationery
items, toys and other gifts to keep their interest in education
alive," said another varsity student Dhananjay Yadav.
"We would be living in a totally different world if the students
of other varsities also took up the job of teaching poor children.
If it happens, we would in a real sense be fighting illiteracy,"
he added.
Allahabad University, set up in 1887, offers some 50 courses to
over 26,000 students.
(Asit
Srivastava can be contacted at asit.s@ians.in)
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