: Jharkhand Teacher’s Brilliant Initiative Has Kids Teaching Their Parents Grandparents #IndiaNEWS #Education Growing up in a poor family, Dr Sapan Patralekh realised the importance of education

Jharkhand Teacher’s Brilliant Initiative Has Kids Teaching Their Parents Grandparents #IndiaNEWS #Education
Growing up in a poor family, Dr Sapan Patralekh realised the importance of education at a young age. Due to his fathers death, he had to stay in a friends house in a nearby village in Bihar for his studies. He had very little money at the time, nevertheless, he ensured that he studied well and completed his Doctorate in Hindi.

The 44-year-old became a teacher in 2004 and says his focus was always on educating as many children as possible. Since 2015, he has been the principal at the Dumarthar Utrkramit Madhya Vidyalaya (Upgraded Middle school) in Dumka, Jharkhand. But it was in 2020, when the country was under lockdown, that Sapan spent sleepless nights thinking of how he would teach his students who didnt have smartphones.

“I was very worried, as it had taken a lot of effort to get these children to school. I was scared that these children would drop out, get married, or worse – go to work. Thats when we set up blackboards on the outside of the mud houses. We were able to continue each childs education from 2020 to 2022,??? says Sapan.

It was this thought that led to an entire village full of blackboards.

Children studying in Dumarthar village during the lockdown.

Four teachers, including the principal, took charge of four different areas and divided the students amongst themselves. They used a loudspeaker to maintain social distancing. Children would solve assignments on the blackboard, and each child had a blackboard, chalk and duster for themselves. Children would also write their doubts on the blackboard, which the teachers would address.

“We maintained social distancing, wore masks, and used sanitisers. I’m glad this blackboard teaching model worked for these children and their education remained uninterrupted,??? says Sapan.

‘Educating our elders’

A child teaches her parent to write his name

When schools opened in February 2022, Sapan started thinking of how to utilise these blackboards that were spread across Dumarthar village – a tribal village, in which most people are involved in manual labour or farming.

“My idea was to use these blackboards even after students started coming to school. In the past two years, as we took the class at every childs doorstep, I became well acquainted with the elders in the house too. I wanted to educate them to make them realise the importance of education,??? says Sapan.

Sapan surveyed 80 houses in the village to find that of the 430 residents above the age of 18, 138 werent literate.

In the next Bal Sansad (child cabinet), Sapan asked the children if they were interested in educating their parents and grandparents.