Meet the GRP constable who became a teacher to help poor children

A Government Railway Police (GRP) constable posted in Unnao, Rohit Kumar Yadav, is realising his father’s dream – to educate underprivileged children for free.

His father, who was an IAF officer until his retirement, had opened a school in a village in UP’s Etawah district, but had to shut it down due to family restrictions.

He was also moved by the plight of the poor children he saw while on a journey from Unnao to Rae Bareli. This, in addition to his father’s vision prompted the GRP constable to hasten this dream, and take up social work.

The image of these children holding begging bowls instead of books and stationery left a deep impression on Rohit’s mind. So without much hesitation, he reached out to the parents of these children.

“I kept visiting these families of gypsies, who used to inhabit the railway land near tracks, and slum dwellers for a month every day to convince them to send their children to school but most of them were reluctant,” Rohit tells The New Indian Express, adding, “Sending their children to school would have resulted in the loss of earning hands in those families. Besides, most of them were not ready to go through the school admission drill.”

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That’s when he decided to an open air school with the motto, ‘Har Haath Mein Kalam’ (a pen in every hand) near the railway track of the Unnao station. While initially, the classes saw only around five students, by the end of the month it had attracted about 15 students. However, Rohit was the only teacher for these children.

The constable took the classes after his work hours, and even bore all the costs the students needed to attend the classes like stationery, books, etc. However, seeing his efforts, some NGOs around the area decided to help him in his initiative. They even helped him obtain a brick-and-mortar classroom for his students, at a nearby rented accommodation.

Months later, District Panchayati Raj Officer further aided Rohit’s efforts and helped him shift the classes to the Korari Panchayat Bahwan building.

“At present, the school has two more teachers apart from Yadav, and the total strength of students has increased to 90. The GRP has also extended help to Yadav to run the school. With the collaborative efforts of Yadav and all those who extended their help, many children in his village are now able to have access to education,” reported The Logical Indian.

“My passion to run the school was bigger than the fatigue and stress I used to have after hours of duty on trains. This passion became the mission of my life as it gave me the feeling that I am living my father’s dream.” he added.

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