A school that even you can run

Deepender Deswal in Hisar

Locked in a grim battle of life, only a force of the inner-self can make you say: “I can, still.” Ask Rani, a domestic help, about how she would like her two children to grow up. She’d tell you that although she has no money or a house, she knows her children can be brilliant if they are allowed to study. That strength of ‘can’ in her voice has taken her to Nai Raahein, a primary school, started in 2012 by a group of Hisar’s youngsters.

The school has 124 children, and its patrons are determined to offer them all facilities that the best public school can. “My kids could have been daily wagers somewhere..,” says Rani. Some days back, when a public school organized a painting competition with 350 participants, her daughter Rajni (12) bagged third position. She also cleared the first round of the Intellect of the Town competition. “I want to become a teacher,” says Rajni. Her school offers education free of cost and also arranges dresses, books and stationery for the children.

Neetu (13) is a fifth grader and aspires to become a pilot. She had to drop out after her father died. She resumed her studies with Nai Raahein in 2012. Her mother Laxmi works as a daily wager to take care of her three daughters, Neetu, Asha and Bhawna. 

Similar is the story of Kundan, who never misses school despite his family’s financial constraints. “Whether he is with his mother or father, he would be in school every day”, says his teacher. 

The schoolchildren are talented in arts and performances. The play Bhagya Widhata written by Umesh Sharma -- one of the office-bearers of the society -- was judged best in the Shanti Tayal Inter School Play Competition in November last year. The play was staged again in the Vidya Devi Jindal School. The event drew applause of the Bollywood actor of Lagaan fame, Yashpal Sharma, and the director of Haryanavi movie Pagri -- the Honour -- who visited the school and watched the play. 

The school is housed in a building provided by Jagdish Bhargava, grand-son of the Thakur Dass Bhargava, member of the Constituent Assembly and former MP. He was the brother of first chief minister of Punjab after Independence, Gopi Chand Bhargava. Umesh Sharma, an office-bearer of the school’s management society, says they have hired well-qualified seven teachers, led by a volunteer educationist Tara Sharma. The management also ropes in college students to hold special classes in English language and Mathematics. 

“As a senior school, we help Nai Raahein in evaluating the standards of numeric and literary skills,” says Dr K C Chaturvedi, Principal, Thakur Dass Bhargava Senior Secondary School, Hisar.

The school has helpful donors. “We have no dearth of funds as our friends and well wishers are always eager to help with whatever the school needs. We want to train students for future competitions and ensure they get admission in good schools after fifth class under the state government rules for economically weaker sections and those living below poverty line (BPL),” says Sharma.

“In my personal capacity, I have been interacting with the children of this school and find the education standard up to the mark,” says Shabnam Hans, Principal, Government Girls School, Mangali village in Hisar.