Camping out in school

For the children of Badarpur Khader bordering Uttar Pradesh, school is a makeshift tent. Their teacher Mohammed Salim writes on a blackboard that’s hung on a cane stick that holds the tent together.

A school that runs out of a tent in Badarpur Khader is teaching villagers the importance of education

For the children of Badarpur Khader bordering Uttar Pradesh, school is a makeshift tent. Their teacher Mohammed Salim writes on a blackboard that’s hung on a cane stick that holds the tent together. After the early morning lessons in the madrassa, the children in the age group of 8 to 15, clutching their daris or shawls, head for the sprawling ground where the tent is erected and begin their morning lessons at Umeed. The school was started by the National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) in October. NACDOR is a confederation of more than 300 grassroot Dalit organisations across the country founded by Ashok Bharti.

Sanjay Bharti, 43, Delhi field coordinator of NACDOR, who started the Badarpur school has worked in other resettlement colonies such as Sapera Basti and Shankarpur. “When I came here six months ago, I witnessed the state of the village firsthand. There is no government school, no electricity, no hospital and none of the adults in the village is literate. But there is an overwhelming desire in the villagers to provide education and a better future for their children.”

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Twelve-year-old Wajid recalls trekking up the neighbouring village to the government school where the three teachers cranked out alphabets and numbers. Naid, 6, rattles off the names of animals as she sifts through the book distributed by NACDOR. “Initially, village pradhan Jamil Ahmed and I did the rounds of houses in the village when parents did not send their kids. Now education has become their motto,” says Salim. In fact, Salim has never taught before—he ran a kirana shop before the villagers appointed him teacher. “He is the only one who is educated in the village (Salim has a postgraduate degree). Jamil bhai’s phone diary is full with numbers but he can’t read a single one. Every time he has to take Salim’s help,” says Shahdeen, a villager. Every family who sends their children to the school contributes Rs 50 towards Salim’s salary. Though the children haven’t started learning English yet, Salim is keen to get them started soon.

When he first arrived here, says Bharti, villagers were a bit hesitant to send the children to school. Says Sanna, 35, mother of seven, “When Sanjay bhai first came to the village we were a bit reluctant to meet him. But he made us see the need for a school. Now, I want my children to study. At least they should be able to read the numbers on a number plate.”