This unique Prayagraj 'open' school transforming lives of slum children

PRAYAGRAJ: At 8am sharp on every Sunday, 60 to 80 kids scuffle to get the best seat in the class on the carpet under the new Yamuna bridge. Some seek roadside view, while others want the front row.
Their school neither has classrooms nor salaried teachers, but their thirst for education is taken care of by educators who are themselves students of Allahabad University and its affiliated colleges, and mostly NCC cadets. These young teachers are, however, no less determined than their qualified counterparts of the elite public schools in Sangam city, but their focus is on shaping the future of slum kids.
This group of graduate, postgraduation students also distributes stationery, slippers, eatables, and clothes to slum kids without any monetary support and do it all with their pocket money.
However, parents of some of these students are now donating funds after noticing their dedication.
The 'open' school, started 20 months ago, has become the lifeline of over 80 slum kids. It all started when a group of five law students led by Shiv Pratap Singh Rana saw slum kids begging outside Mankameshwar temple or working as ragpickers and decided to teach them every Sunday.
"It was not an easy task to motivate these slum kids," said Singh.
“I started visiting their houses in Kydganj slum on Sunday with eatables and promised to give them more if they come to study. Initially, the response was poor and only three-four children agreed, but the number grew gradually,” said Singh.
“When I asked them why they didn’t go to school, they said, ‘We don’t have money to pay the fees’,” he added. Soon more AU students joined the group and contributed to the fun-filled activity-based teaching. The classes lasted for two hours, followed by a session on solving questions of Maths and Science for students of all age groups.
Since most of these kids were supporting their families, the challenge was keeping them engaged. “We started activitybased learning, so that they get some time to play as well and even arranged necessary articles for them,” said Singh. The group brainstormed and recalled all the tricks they had learnt in their school days to make theories, formulae, and equations, simpler for these children to understand.
Singh, the group leader, got selected in the Combined Defence Services Examination this year, but his fellow friends would continue teaching the kids.