A 'part-time' school for the downtrodden kids of Dhanbad

Ramgarh (Jharkhand), April 16 : An open-air school in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district is making a difference in the lives of several kids from the downtrodden families.

Belonging to the families of wooden basket makers, these kids had no access to even primary education, as they were engaged in basket making by their parents.

The parents have no option but to make the children work. The children added to the family income.

Courtesy Hetam Sariya, the President of Jharkhand Vikas Nyas, who launched a campaign in Rakuwa Village encouraged villagers to send their children to the local Ambedkar School at Gola Block.

Today, the special school conducts classes for two hours early in the morning, which enables the children to join their parents at work.

Hetam Sariya is keen that the kids are educated.

"Their poverty would pass on to their next generation if the children are not educated. So, it was necessary to educate them. After giving a thought to this I decided to start a school, where these kids could be given education either in morning or in afternoon," Sariya says.

According to Janardan Karandev, one teacher, the school was started in April 2007.

"It runs for two hours from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. After attending classes at this school, these kids support their families in their work," Karandev says.

Today, it presents a comforting sight to find these children learning tables in their classrooms.

The only purpose of this village school is to provide a good education to the children of this area so that they could lead a respectable life in society. By Suman Negi

ANI