College students gift sum kids free tuitions

NAGPUR: Our girl is all of seven and never misses a chance to see the bright yellow school bus pass by her house. A school girl about her age jumps on the bus, a clean slate tightly pressed under her arm and red ribbons in her neatly braided pigtails flying behind.
The girl pictures herself as the one going to school, but then her mother shouting out to her, accompanied by some unladylike swearing, to clean up the mess.When errands are pending and household chores undone, her studies are on hold.
Such is the turbulent life of slum kids in Pandhrabodi and Sevanagar area. Although some kids do go to school, they do not have access to quality education due to the financial crunch.
While the cost of joining a private coaching class makes even middle-class parents reel, a group of college students and professors residing near Ramnagar Hilltop have been running a tuition class free of cost for students of standards I to X since 2003. A group of 10 youths run the tuition classes.
Starting a free coaching class for slum kids was college professor Dhanraj Dhadkar's brainchild. He started 'Samta tuition classes' in 2003 for kids residing in Pandhrabodi and Sevanagar area.
A student of the tuition class, Neelanjali Sawarkar, said that since the class does not charge any fee like others, it becomes easy for them to get help with their studies. "They take up subjects as per our convenience and clear all out doubts. I am in junior college, so it becomes all the more difficult for me since there are fewer classes. These tuition classes are a big relief for me, and my parent's pocket," she said.
Today, the class has some 80 students, up from a mere 10 when the classes first started.
Dhadkar said they have to conduct classes in open air, since they do not have any place to hold them. Creating a prototype for others to follow, he said that initially only his family members would pitch in to provide financial aid, but now even his friends have joined his programme as a social responsibility.
"When students are educated, they can stand on their own feet. Often the inhabitants of slum areas do not realize the importance of education and do not take special interest in educating their kids till graduation," he added.
Kaustubh Lakhe, a college student who also teaches at the class, said that many of these students are deprived of proper guidance and have already started consuming tobacco. So, the teachers put on a small show for the kids on November 12 to educate them to stay away from addictions.