For the past twenty days, every morning, police sub-inspector Shantappa Jadammanavar has been taking classes for children in a neighbourhood slum in Vinayak Nagar, Nagarbhavi in western Bengaluru.
Daily at 7 am, the sub-inspector teaches around 30 children at the migrant settlement for an hour, before going for work.
‘I have been doing this for twenty days now. The children here (at the migrant settlement) do not have gadgets for online education. So I decided that before my shift begins, I will come here and teach the children for an hour,’ Shantappa, who works at the Annapoorneshwari Nagar police station in Bengaluru, told The News Minute.
‘Most migrant workers in this settlement and in Bengaluru are from north Karnataka districts like Ballari, Koppal, Raichur and Gadag. I know the conditions the workers live in since I am also from the same region. My uncle was a labourer for ten years and lived in a hut like this. So I decided to help in any way I can with the education of the children,’ he added.
The sub-inspector, who hails from Ballari district in northern Karnataka, lost his father when he was young. The cop said that he decided to teach the children as most of them are yet to begin their education.
‘It’s all about priorities, If I’m unable to teach them a day, I give them homework. I promise them gifts like geometry box or a bag or book if they do well in class,’ the cop told The Times Of India.
As he engages with children from class 4 to 10, Shantappa said that he is not focusing on imparting academic education. Instead, he teaches the children value-oriented education, vedic mathematics, life skills and general knowledge.
‘I don’t tell them to become police officers (laughs) but I tell them that they have to be good human beings and do their bit for society. This kind of value education is useful especially at a time teachers are not able to impart it in a classroom setting,’ he said.
Hailing the cop’s initiative, Karnataka’s Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said, ‘I am proud of the police officer. While police officials have made the news for the wrong reasons, this kind of example increases the pride of the police department.’
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