Constable By Day, Teacher By Night: Uttar Pradesh Cop's Outreach Helps Underprivileged Kids Get Education

A Government Railway Police (GRP) constable posted in Unnao named Rohit Kumar Yadav always wanted to provide free education to underprivileged children as it was his father's dream.

Years ago, Yadav's father had started a school in their village which is situated in Etawah district in Uttar Pradesh. Although due to opposition from some of his family members, his father had to shut down the school in the village.

When Yadav witnessed few kids begging in the train while he was returning back from home, he realised that he wanted to work towards the education of these kids.

The circumstances of these children distressed Yadav. Just like his father, he wanted to provide them with an education so that they could come out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

Instead of just thinking about the condition of these children and, he reached out to them and their parents. He wanted to convince them to continue with their studies and go to school as it could help in shaping a better future for them. Yadav kept visiting these families who stayed near railway tracks or in slums for a month every day to convince them for sending their children to school.

Since most of them couldn't afford the school fees, they were reluctant about not sending their children to school.

Realising the constraints that these children were facing, Yadav came up with the idea to deal with the situation. He decided that instead of the children going to the school, the school would rather come to the children and he would run it.

"Finally, he opened an open-air school called 'Har Haath Mein Kalam' (a pen in every hand)," reported The New Indian Express. The school was situated near the railway track of Unnao station. Initially, it just observed five students coming to attend classes.

Although within a month, the total number of students increased to fifteen. Managing the school was not easy for him. He devoted his time to the school after his duty hours.

In the beginning, he had to bear all the finances to keep the school open. Initially, he bore the expenses of stationery and other from his pocket. After people learnt about his work which some NGOs came forward to help him. The school started running at rented accommodation.

With the extended help from District Panchayati Raj Officer, the school has now been shifted to Korari Panchayat Bahwan building.

At present, the school has two more teachers apart from Yadav, and the total strength of students has increased to 90. The GRP has also extended help to Yadav to run the school. With the collaborative efforts of Yadav and all those who extended their help, many children in his village are now able to access education.

Yadav feels that he is fulfilling his father's dreams through his school and working towards a social cause which he is really passionate about.

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