Meet the 32-year-old IAS officer who donated his salary to renovate schools in Meghalaya
Swapnil Tembe, the District Collector of East Garo Hills, Meghalaya, believes that education wields the power to bring about social change. He is leading from the front to improve the literacy rate in the region, and has helped renovate more than 60 schools.
Swapnil Tembe was just like any other young adult. Growing up in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, he was ambitious and hardworking. But, he grew up to have a noteworthy journey.
From being an engineer to becoming an IAS officer and taking up the position of District Collector in East Garo Hills, Meghalaya, one of India’s most backward districts, the thirty-two-year-old has made significant strides in life. Despite facing tough times during his adolescence, Swapnil did not step nack. He managed to earn by teaching at a coaching centre while preparing for the UPSC exams.
IAS officer Swapnil Tembe wearing a traditional head gear and waist coat handcrafted in Garo.
Today, as a civil service officer, he is lighting up the lives of thousands of students by undertaking a series of projects to renovate the schools his district. One of his flagship programmes called STAR, which stands for ‘School Transformation by Augmenting Resources’, has already restored 60 schools.
“I decided to take up civil services to bring about a positive change in the community. I feel that quality education holds the power to root out most social ills. This is why I started off by introducing interventions in this sector. Since I was keen on making a direct contribution, I donated two months of my salary for the improvement of infrastructure at schools in East Garo Hills,” Swapnil tells SocialStory.
Swapnil Tembe has renovated more than 60 schools in Meghalaya.
An awe-inspiring journey
Though Swapnil was born in Jabalpur, he was brought up in the town of Katni. His father, Purushotham Tembe, was a Mathematics teacher. Swapnil finished his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, and later to pursued mechanical engineering from IIT-Kharagpur.
It was during his third year at college, in 2008, that he decided to become an IAS officer. Before appearing for the UPSC exam, Swapnil signed up for a distance learning master’s programme in public policy at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
Swapnil Tembe along with his friends from Kendriya Vidyalaya.
Just when he was about to scale his efforts to crack the civil services, Swapnil’s father was diagnosed with a terminal illness and soon passed away.
“Those two years of my life when my father was suffering were the most difficult phase of my life. It felt like the world around me was collapsing. Besides, my family’s financial condition was weak, and I had to support them. So, I took up a job as a business analyst at Deloitte in Hyderabad. After saving for two years, I stepped down to chase my calling,” he recollects.
Swapnil’s desire to do good for the society pushed him to move to Delhi where he began teaching at a coaching centre, and simultaneously prepared for the civil service exam. However, he could not crack it until his third attempt in 2015 when he secured an all India rank of 84.
“A lot of my friends and family members told me to end to my pursuit of becoming an IAS officer. It did demotivate me, but I did not give up. I figured that as long as an individual possesses the yearning to learn, s/he or holds the potential to crack the civil services,” Swapnil says.
Lighting up the lives of students
During the course of Swapnil’s career, he has held various positions, starting from Assistant Secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy of the HRD Ministry and Assistant Commandant in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Swapnil Tembe and his batch mates at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.
After clearing the exam, Swapnil underwent training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, following which he became the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Dadenggre, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya. Presently, he is serving as the District Collector of the same region.
However, administering the area involved multiple challenges for Swapnil.
“Majority of the population in the East Garo Hills consisted of tribals, many of the roads were not motorable, cellular network was intermittent, and development indicators remained low. Due to this, some parts of the region remained cut off from the rest of the world. But, one of the most pressing matters of concern was the dismal literacy rate (67 percent). That is when I decided to launch some initiatives to improve it,” he says.
Swapnil Tembe addressing students from various schools in his district.
Swapnil spent a considerable amount of time inspecting the schools in the region, and realised all had just two or three classrooms with dilapidated interiors and colourless walls. Besides this, the attendance of the staff was poor. All these factors had resulted in a spike in dropout rates.
“To resolve this, we introduced a project called ‘STAR’, School Transformation by Augmenting Resources. The initiative included creating awareness about the importance of education and familiarising students with various career opportunities. We executed this by putting up banners and charts across schools and training teachers to spread the word,” Swapnil explains.
One of the schools that was renovated as part of the 'ADOPT a School' project.
Another programme that Swapnil started was ‘Adopt a School’, wherein he inspired people to contribute funds to adopt a school and renovate the infrastructure, and distribute learning material and other essential resources. Swapnil himself donated two months salary for the cause. In January 2020, the IAS officer is planning to partner with Azim Premji Foundation to train all teachers in the district.
“Over 60 schools have already been revamped as part of these initiatives. But there is still a long way to go. My only source of motivation is the smiles I get to see on the faces of people,” Swapnil says.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)
