Voices: Bulldozers fail to silence this school’s hopeful voices

New Delhi: As the world celebrates International Literacy Day, Kavita, a teacher at Panchsheel Sikshan Sansthan, a modest educational institution for underprivileged children, recounts a poignant story from July 5. “I was engrossed in teaching my students mathematics when a bulldozer arrived to raze our school to the ground. school. Although I had heard that the civic authorities had demolished illegal occupants of Yamuna Khadar, I never expected them to demolish our educational institution. But they did. We managed to rescue a few benches from the wreckage,” she says.
The school mainly caters to students from Delhi Govt and MCD schools in Mayur Vihar Phase-1, Pocket-4, who attend classes here before and after their regular school hours. Satyendra Pal Shakya, the principal of the institution, has been imparting knowledge to children from families of farmers, vendors and daily wage earners for the past decade. During this monsoon season, both teachers and students are in dire straits as they do not have a proper roof over their classrooms. Says Shakya, “Our children have an indomitable spirit; they are well aware of their plight, many have even become homeless as their houses too have been demolished, but they remain steadfast in their commitment to their education and attend classes diligently every day. They are our true inspiration.”
Himanshi, a student of class V, expresses her admiration and says, “I have seen the courage and resilience of our teachers in the face of adversity and I aspire to be a teacher like them.” Priyandar, a student of class IV, similarly nurses the dream of becoming a cricketer. Kareena’s house was also demolished, prompting her uncle and aunt to return to their native village. However, Kareena and her parents remain steadfast and hold on to her ambition of becoming a doctor.
Shakya has been dedicated to educating children from the Mayur Vihar Pocket-4 slum since 2015. Yamuna Khadar in Mayur Vihar is populated by migrants from Badaun, Ghazipur, Shahjahanpur and Bihar. Shakya reflects, “I started this mission to educate underprivileged and slum children in 2015. We gradually built our classrooms and bought benches, with the generous support of many Delhiites. However, after a decade of progress, we are starting all over again. I wonder if this really represents the essence of ‘viksit bharat’ (developed India).”