Life at 21 was simple for happy-go-lucky Uttam Teron. He would shoot the breeze with friends at a local paan-shop when he wasn’t wandering around the lanes of Pamohi village in Assam’s Kamrup district. When he fell short of cash, he would chop some wood and sell it.
His life took a turn on a sunny day in 2001, when he saw children in his tribal village looking for firewood instead of going to school. “Deep in my heart I decided to pick them up, gather them all and teach them the basics of education, but I was helpless,” Teron tells Outlook.
Today, around 700 underprivileged kids study in his Parijat Academy, which he started in 2003 in an old cowshed. “The challenge was to gather students… Most parents in the hills had no idea what school education means. At first they were reluctant to send their children to me,” he says.
Nevertheless, Teron got to work, collecting pencils, old books and school bags from nearby villages and housed the academy’s first four students in his own house. “My mother would cook food and feed them. We used to eat together,” he says. When the number of students reached 32, Teron borrowed Rs 50,000 from his parents to build two classrooms at his home.
As the number of students swelled, Teron’s life changed further. There was no scope for paan-shop banter anymore, because his students had started referring to him as ‘Sir’ with a sense of reverence. He also had to tirelessly canvas for old stationery and sundry items to keep the school running. A small news item in a local newspaper in 2005, soliciting aid for the Parijat Academy, opened the donation floodgates.
Today, the Parijat Academy has about 700 children from 15 tribal villages and 25 teachers. The school follows normal timings, with classes from nursery up to Class X, and has two hostel buildings. Over and avove the regular curricula, the school also offers courses on computer learning, sewing, sports, dance, etc. In 2011, Uttam Teron was awarded the CNN-IBN Real Heroes award for his contribution towards children’s education.
“Many foreign students visit my school during their vacation and teach the children. I have got visitors from Germany, US, Netherlands, France, Bolivia, too,” he says. At the core of Teron’s education philosophy is employability. In Assam, unemployment is a major concern.
Parijat Academy also offers training in crafting toys and decorative pieces, which students sell to visitors. “Many foreign visitors buy them for the cause. I want my kids to stand on their own feet after completing formal education. Without skill in today’s world, it is tough to sustain (oneself),” says Teron.
(This appeared in the print edition as "A School in Time")
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