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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Teachers step out of class to turn new leaf-Naresh Jana
-The Telegraph
 
Salboni, June 13: Teachers of a school in West Midnapore’s Jungle Mahal have been visiting the homes of students who are irregular, mainly because of poverty-related reasons, and motivating them to attend classes every day.

The 25 teachers of Moupal Deshpran Vidyapith in Salboni have split themselves into two groups and are touring the 22 villages in the area from where the students come. The drive, in which the teachers are speaking to the irregular students and their parents, started on Monday.

Prasun Kumar Paria, the headmaster of the coeducational school, said: “Our teachers drew up a report in which it was found that around 300 of the 1,078 students of the school have a poor attendance. Most of them are from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe families and study in classes ranging from V to VIII.”

“Our school reopened after the summer vacation on June 11. But since the students will join from June 17, we decided to take the opportunity to visit the homes of those who often remain absent and motivate them and their parents,” he said.

Asked why the trend of remaining absent was more pronounced in the Class V-VIII bracket, Paria said: “From Class IX, students become more matured and realise that they will have to pass their Madhyamik exams. They become more serious about their studies.”

The parents told the teachers about the problems they face in sending their children to school. “Some parents think studying in a school is a luxury. They are so poor that they feel that instead of going to school, if their children work in fields or as labourers, they can earn some money. In case of girls, the mothers think that the little one can stay at home and help in cooking and other daily chores,” Paria said.

Bengali teacher Suparna Sen said she and her colleagues had reminded the parents that no tuition fee was required. “The backward classes development department gives grants for buying books. We explained to the parents that they would not have to spend money to educate their children. The mothers of some girls told us that the kids had to walk 3-4km every day to attend school. We told them that the girls would get cycles from Class IX under a government scheme,” Sen said.

The teachers said some parents were not even aware that their children did not attend school.

Chandana Mandi, the wife of a farm labourer, said: “Every morning, my son has muri and walks to school. He returns home at 5pm. Then where does he go?”

When the teachers spoke to her son Manik, the boy told them that he played football throughout the day with his friends at a village on the way to school. “There are many other students who play throughout the day or hunt birds with slings. We explained to them the importance of education,” a teacher said.