This 'class' teacher imparts lessons in empowerment

LUCKNOW: Forty-eight years old R B Pal, a dalit could have easily availed the benefits of reservation system in any sector in the country and led a decent life. But, this resident of Kutiyawa, a village in Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, thought to tread the road less travelled. Instead of arming the residents of his village against the apathy of the system, he decided to script a change and empower them with education and enable them not only to fight for their own rights, but also become self-reliant.
The thirst for education was so intense in this teacher that during his student days he often used to swim across the river to reach his favourite place -- the inter college, as he could not pay the boatman.
Sharing his views with TOI, Pal, who runs a Jan Shikshan Kendra in Kutiyawa village, almost 17 kilometres from the Ambedkar Nagar district headquarters, firmly believes that education alone could help any community prosper as well as empower itself, and dalits are no exception. "There is no substitute to education. Only it can help in empowering a person or a community," said Pal citing the example of villagers -- mostly comprising Gaderiya (Shepherd) and Lohar (Blacksmith) castes -- who after much persuasion by Pal and his team, have allowed their children to go to the Jan Shikshan Kendra (a primary school) and learn basic lessons of life.
When asked about the Jan Shikshan Kendra, Pal said: "Thanks to the community support, I was fortunate enough to get a piece of land in 1997. It was here that the foundation of Jan Shikshan Kendra was laid with 13 students. Today, it has progressed to 289 students. However, my endeavour is also to ensure education to adults, and if possible the family members of the students. In fact, I feel proud of teaching a child of a migrant brick-kiln worker. The boy was intelligent enough to clear the recruitment test of UP constables." Interestingly, Pal's daughters completed their primary education from the Jan Shikshan Kendra itself. "Today, my elder daughter Pushpa is pursuing MA, while Sushma, the younger one, is in class X," said a proud father, highlighting the impact of intervention through education at the right age.
Narrating the story behind Jan Shikshan Kendra, Pal says, "It was in 1994, when slogans like education for all, universalisation of education were quite in vogue. However, there was no such provision for the migrant labour population (of Faizabad and Ayodhya working in the tile industry), who used to roam from place to place in search of jobs. At that point of time, I along with some of my friends raised the issue of educating the children of this class of people. An organisation working for child rights awarded me fellowship, which definitely helped me a lot."
"But, at the same time, when our education campaign was going on, a government official told me that your aim remains unaccomplished, if your own child is left uneducated. This remark triggered an instant reaction from me, and I started teaching her at my house. And it is from here only that journey of Jan Shikshan Kendra started," he said.
However, life was not so rosy for Pal, who had to struggle a lot and had to judiciously maintain harmony between his career and domestic duties. "I had to walk barefoot to a government junior high school in Bewana, almost five kilometres from my village. After the school, I used to help my father in the field and with the cattle," recalled Pal.
"I bagged a state government scholarship for achieving distinction in all the five subjects," he added with an obvious sense of pride.
One of the biggest challenges surfaced before Pal when he was in class 9. "Reaching Ramdev Singh Inter College at Kamtaganj proved to be a challenging task as on most of the days I was not able to pay the boatman. As a result, I often had to swim across the river. But I ensured that I always had a spare set of clothes with myself," said the LLB graduate from Allahabad University, who also fared well in class 10 and 12 board examinations.
In a span of 15 years, Jan Shikshan Kendra, too, gradually made its presence felt among the educationally deprived lot in the village and adjoining areas and is working on various aspects of child rights in 55 villages of Ambedkar Nagar district.