He’s Been Educating Kids on the Footpaths of Ahmedabad for 15 Years. Read His Inspiring Story.
By
Ahmedabad Attitude
On
March 28, 2016
In
municipal schools
In a country like India, where most schools offer poor quality education and students still drop out, it is wonderful to see many children studying by the footpaths, late into the night. The story of Kamalesh Parmar, who started a free education initiative after realising the quality of education in municipal schools was terrible, is nothing short of extraordinary. His efforts have been recognised by many people who have, in turn, offered him donations.
Kamalesh runs a fabrication factory in Ahmedabad and has been teaching children for 15 years.
He recently shared his story with Humans of Amdavad.
“I was standing outside my factory and saw around 20 students of a municipality school going back home after giving their exams. They were very happy as their exams were over. Somehow, I got an urge to ask them about what they study at school, and after interacting with those students, I was shocked to know that none of them knew how to read and write,” he says.
“And the most surprising part was that they all were in 8th standard. On hearing this, I conducted a survey of around 400 students in our slum area and the results were astounding. Out of 400 students, only 5 students could read and write. That was the time when I decided to start this footpath school. From teaching them basic alphabets to higher education, we teach everything. Here, they are prepared for their municipality school exams. I also conduct exams once in a year. I teach them for two hours everyday,” he says on Facebook.
On Sundays, this amazing man gives dinner to the children. This is also a reason many of them come for his classes, he says.
