I want to become a doctor. My father could not become a doctor. Now he is with God, and I have to fulfill his dream.” There is great confidence in the eyes of 12-year-old Srishti Shahi, who is studying in the fourth standard. Her father Jaipal Kishorenath Shahi was an RMP (Registered Medical Practitioner) in Chakla village before he succumbed to a cardiac arrest in August 2021.
Such dreams are blossoming in the eyes of the children today thanks to the small coaching centre set up by Hindalco Industries, in Chakla village, some 15 km from Chandwa in the Latehar District of Jharkhand. This coaching centre is being operated under UDAN scheme of CSR of Hindalco. Hindalco has been allotted Chakala Coal Mines in Latehar district and UDAN is being operated by the company under Chakala's community development objective.
The company operates two coaching centres at Chakala and one at Navatoli where free coaching facility is provided to children from classes I to class V. A total of 123 children are studying in these three coaching centres so far. Free copy, pen, pencil etc. are being arranged by the company. In order to conduct the studies in a professional manner, the company has selected the meritorious youth of Chakla as teachers through an examination. A total of three teachers have been given the responsibility of teaching children on a fixed honorarium, who are teaching Hindi, English and Mathematics 6 days a week.
Pawan Kumar Ram, a teacher teaching in coaching, said that such a system of coaching is a first in the area. As a result of this initiative, children are getting a strong “after-school learning environment”. “We are taking English classes for two days, Hindi for two days and Mathematics for two days at this centre. In the coming days, positive results will be seen in the educational development of children of the area,” says Pawan Kumar Ram.
Hindalco is preparing to open a total of 6 coaching centres across the region so that maximum number of children can avail of high-quality professional coaching.