A 34-year-old destitute woman has dedicated her life to teach Dalit kids free-of- cost by opening a school in a remote pocket under Rajnagar block here.
Minati Mallick of Barahipur village runs the school from 6 am to 9 am in a thatched house near a mangrove forest on the Barahipur- Tantiapala road. She is the lone teacher to teach students from Class I to V.
She got a helping hand from a local teacher and a friend to set up the school six years back which is now flourishing well. Mostly poverty–stricken Dalit families send their children to Mallick’s custody. Now the school has 50 students.
Basically the students who study in the Government primary schools come to my school to clear their doubts, Mallick said, adding that yoga is also taught to the children. local teacher Hemant Kumar Rout has been the chief patron behind the school, she informed.
According to Mallick, when she was only 18 years old, her father married her off to Gauranga Mallick, a resident of Balugaon under Puri district. However, two years later, her husband deserted her for all time to come. At that time, she was six months’ pregnant. The sudden turn in her fortune drove her to a state of frustration. Finally she returned to her father’s house.
It is here that she decided to start the school. “I feel happy to provide teaching to the tiny tots of my locality. I have decided to teach the Dalit students free-of-cost since they are the ones who are neglected the most,” said Mallick.