The times they are a-changin…

Two visionaries from Kerala change the face of education in a poor tribal state

Amit Sengupta Jharkhand

A beautiful experiment is beginning to unfold in the old steel town of Tatanagar and in the interiors of Jharkhand. It's amazing that this experiment with truth is being created and nourished by two dogged visionaries who are not from this tribal state. They are founders of the eminent legacy of the Kerala Samajam Modern School (KSMS) and Kerala Public Schools Trust (KPST): APR Nair and Vijayam Kartha. They are proving, quietly and invisibly, beyond the logic of fame or profit or geography, that learning and unlearning is a kind of 'calling', a mission, magical, passionate commitment to the future of hope that is children of India. In this case the poorest of the poor in Jharkhand: tribal children, dark, wiry and hungry, with black eyes full of the wonders of the forests, the rivers and lakes, and the undulating hills.

Across the vast Dalma lake, beyond the hills from across whose terrain the Maoists come and go, is a beautiful village called Dosra, tucked away in the heart of the valley. Here, a government  school has been taken over by the KPST. In this residential school, with a huge, natural playground and vegetable gardens, some of the poorest tribals from remote and primitive zones in Jharkhand come to study. They are all boys and they are chirpy, happy and healthy, with three healthy meals being cooked in the hostel kitchen, clean double rooms and clean toilets and regular classes and playing hours. Most of them had never moved out of their forest dwellings, and were just about surviving as 'young food gatherers' because life is full of deprivations and hunting has become outdated. Many of them are still in the 'forest mode' but they are learning and enjoying the school. They refused to use the toilets in the beginning, preferring the wild, but in the school they have to follow the rules of hygiene and cleanliness.

When evening falls, it becomes dark and terribly quiet. So do the Maoists come around the school, to meet the kids and the resident teachers? “They are most welcome,” says Vijayam Kartha. “I will tell them this is what you should be doing. Open schools for the poor.”

The kids love this doyen of education, as she is known in these areas, for her relentless and effortless work among the poor and urban middle class alike, for educating children, especially the girl child. The last act after a hectic day's visit to Dosra, when she checks everything, including the 'organic garbage disposal and the latest bamboo tree' is the unique farewell. The children wait. So when she turns the next angular corner along with Mr Nair, across the hills, the ritual follows: They all stand and wave and say “Tata…  Tata…” This bye has nothing to do with the Tatas of Singur, but this Tata is unique, because they wait for her to leave for some strange reason and wave only after she turns that hill corner ten minutes away.

The Kerala visionaries have started several schools in Jamshedpur and rural Jharkhand. They are short of funds but hope floats, constantly. Vijayam Kartha has also revolutionised the concept of Hindi medium schools. She has reopened the popular and prestigious English medium school of the KSMS in the afternoon for the poor kids of Jamshedpur. And the 'English medium' kids and their parents don't mind, so high is the quality of education and so committed are the teachers. Hence the afternoon classes are full of hardworking kids, child labourers, slum children, domestic helps, kids of vegetable-sellers, hawkers, coolies, rickshaw-pullers — bright girls and boys with dreams in their eyes, coconut oil in their hair, shy in their modest school uniforms. “Be proud that you work and earn and study. The rich can't even imagine your hard work and your difficult life. One day you will change the world.”

The kids smile and stand up: “Good afternoon madam…” they say in sing-song chorus, in English. A little girl gets up and warmly hugs Vijayam Kartha. Another pulls at her saree. The kids are happy and learning the ways of the books. And she fills the classroom with joy. And hope. The world has already changed.