School at farmers' protest site transforming lives of ragpickers

New Delhi: The Savitribai Phule Pathshala, a school opened by social activist Nirdesh Singh at the Ghazipur border protest site, has transformed the lives of kids who used to pick up garbage earlier, according to an IANS report. The school has become so popular that the local residents are now coming to it to get their wards admitted there.

Almost 150 students are studying in the school, which was opened on January 22, 2021.

The students have also been given school bags and uniforms by the teachers and has brought a behavioural change in the students. The kids studying in the school come here in uniform and after the school they take it off before going to pick garbage.

They have also started saying 'thank you' and 'sorry'. They have even started following cleanliness routine and are doing revision of the things taught by the teachers. A lot of students have learnt the tables from 1-10 while many have learnt writing also.

"Everyday we are getting 2-4 admissions. We are providing free education to the kids and since the change is visible in most of them, more parents are now encouraged to get their wards admitted to the school," IANS quoted Singh as saying.

However, there aren't enough seats in the school to accommodate all the students.

When asked where will these students study after the protest gets over, Singh said: "We have activated a team of teachers in the local schools and given them the information about these kids. We will get these students admitted to the local schools under a special scheme."

(with inputs from IANS)