Muzaffarpur: In a place where burning pyres reflect death and despair, a glimmer of hope has made a bright appearance. Sumit Kumar of Muzaffarpur, Bihar, has opened ‘Appan Pathshala,’ a school in a crematorium here, breaking the traditional barriers and offering education to those who need it the most.
Sumit says he dreamed of becoming a judge but ended up at the Muktidham (crematorium) as children fascinated him, and the struggle of school dropouts from poor families prompted him to start this project.
How Sumit Started This School
Once Sumit had gone to ‘Muktidham’ to perform the last rites of his friend's relative, some children ran around the burning pyre to collect fruits and money. Sumit asked the children, “Do you study?” The children replied, “What will you do after studying?" This answer shocked him, and he took a vow right there that he would explain to these children what they could do after studying.
Now the same cremation ground is filled with giggles of children and the sound of learning as Sumit opened a school there in March 2017.
Foundation of ‘Appan’ Pathshala
Sumit says he opened the school to provide free education to children whose families either couldn't afford it or were ignorant. “This school will not only give them an education but also wings to their dreams,” he says.
Sumit has been teaching the tricks of organic farming along with free education to the children of slum settlements in ‘Muktidham’ for seven years. The school was started in March 2017 and named 'Appan' (Our own), so that the children feel that it is their own.
About 130 children study:
Sumit says that when the school started, there were 8 to 10 children, but now there are 130 children.
“Children got into the habit of sitting gradually, and then they started studying. Now, they come to the school regularly,” he says. “The parents are also encouraged and motivated to get their children enrolled in other schools. Every year about 15 to 20 children get enrolled in the nearby government primary school, middle school, and high school,” he says.
Education Imparted Till 10th Standard
Students from class one to 10th study in Sumit’s school as he arranges dress bags, notebooks, books, pencils, and other stationary items and comfortable seating for all these children. In 7 years, he has enrolled more than 250 children in the nearby government schools, as students say they enjoy studying under Sumit.
“Because of this school, the lives of children are coming back on track. Now these children want to become engineers and doctors. We started ‘Appan’ School for the education of these children. Their studies are coming back on track,” says Sumit.
‘This School Brings Uniformity To Society’
Sumit believes that if these children study and become educated and cultured, they will stay away from bad company. “They will not be exploited; people around them will be inspired by seeing them. In the coming times, they will become an example for their society and their families,” he says. “There will be uniformity in society. Discrimination between high and low will end in society. A feeling will arise that even a poor person's son can become an administrator,” he adds.
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