Covid fails to dampen their passion for learning

Minna Zutshi

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 4

At the time when schools are closed and the studies disrupted, some slum children in Ludhiana are learning the three R’s in the open. With a bit of tweaking of their usual routine, keeping in view the Covid precautionary measures, the concepts of self-study and weekly evaluation have been introduced to the children staying in the slums at Hambran Road here.

As many as 25 children aged between 4 and 16 years are being taught general science, political science and even mathematics, says Hariom Jindal, who conducts free-of-cost classes for children from slums where families of ragpickers stay.

“Children cannot be left on their own at this juncture. It will derail all our earlier efforts and the children may lose direction,” explains Jindal, who is an advocate by profession. “Weaning the children away from ragpicking has been an onerous task. Their families would not be sorry to see them back to ragpicking. So, keeping them engaged even during the pandemic is essential,” he adds.

To keep these children’s interest in education alive, Jindal has even distributed new books to them. These books were written keeping in view the special needs and requirements of the children from the financially challenged social strata. The children were told to ‘prepare’ chapters from the books. The brief was clear – try reading and grasping the meaning. And then share with your friends what you learn.

Teachers associated with Jindal visit the slum daily. But instead of teaching the children in the classroom setting, they teach them the method of studying. They guide them by resolving their queries and clearing their doubts.

During his weekly visits to the slum, Jindal helps the children contextualise their lessons and also motivates them to have a questioning mind. “There is no point in merely rote learning chapters like the one on taxes. Such chapters have to be understood in the context of our rights. I encourage the children to think for themselves. My effort is to not merely educate them but to empower them by encouraging them to ask questions, look for interconnectedness and relate what they learn to their life,” he says.

For slum residents it has become a kind of ‘habit’ to get their children trained under Jindal. There is even a feeling of competition among the families residing there about getting their wards educated. Goodies like food and stationery items are an added attraction. This is a complete change from the initial extreme reluctance that they had shown to allow their kids to study.