Alipurduar (West Bengal): As India celebrates Teachers' Day today, Jayabrata Bhattacharya, a sub-inspector in the police force for three years continued his mission of bringing light to the darkness.
Bhattacharya left behind a secure government job to pursue his true calling—teaching. "I chose teaching as a profession because I want to build human beings and society. I am honoured to see my students grow," Bhattacharya said.
Bhattacharya from West Bengal joined the police force in 1999, but his childhood dream was to become a teacher. Despite his demanding police duties, he nurtured his dream of educating others. In 2002, he passed the government exam to become a teacher, marking the start of his 22-year-long teaching career.
For almost two decades, Bhattacharya has worked tirelessly to spread education in the remote tea gardens of Birpara in the Madarihat block of Alipurduar district. With many tea gardens in the area and government-run schools like Birpara High School struggling to stay open when plantations close, Bhattacharya has dedicated himself to ensuring that education continues even in times of crisis. He brings students to school and has made it his mission to ensure they don't fall behind.
In recognition of his contributions to the field of education, Bhattacharya is being awarded the ‘Shiksha Ratna Award’. His commitment to building a better future for his students and society serves as an inspiring example.
In the remote tea garden areas, the light of education has long struggled to reach, with school dropout rates alarmingly high. As a result, generation after generation has remained marginalised due to a lack of primary education. These areas, economically and socially dependent on the tea industry, face severe disruptions in education when tea plantations shut down.
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