Free School Under
The Bridge
"Mai fauji banana chahti hu kyuki mujhe ladna pasand hai, desh ki liye ladna", quotes a 5 years old Sania.
Living in slums near and adjoining to the Yamuna Bank, Sania and hundreds like her walk a long stretch to attend a free school under the bridge. Some have started attending the school 6 months back whereas some are going since last 2-3 years.
Between Pillar number 5 & 6 of Yamuna Bank Metro Station bridge, resides a school whose roof is the sky and mud is the floor.
Amidst the hand painted sunflowers, three blackboards claim their spaces. 'I Love My india' and 'Parishram hi safalta ki kunji hai' are two of many slogans that adorn the metro wall of this school.
In their miss matched uniforms, hundreds of kids sit in rows to obediently listen their masters.
Classes are held in two shifts, 9am-11am for boys and from 2pm-4pm for girls. Lessons in basic Math, Science, Hindi, Sanskrit, Social Studies and English are given, along with training in reading and writing. Students are also encouraged to take part in extracurricular activities including games. They are motivated to show case their individual talents. Students singing and dancing among themselves, is a common sight at the school in their free time.
Students are equipped with basic primary knowledge and are then being enrolled in two government schools in Shakarpur under RTE scheme.
Since its inception in 2006, school has successfully covered 10 long years. Its success can be measured from the fact that the school which had started with only 2 students now accommodates more than 200 students.
With no support from government, the school solely sustains itself on the basis of generous individual contributions from people all across Delhi and NCR. Items including that of stationary and other useful belongings are often being distributed among students.
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