KOCHI: Frequent power interruptions, poor net connectivity, cultural and language disconnect. Belonging to one of the most backward communities, 15-year-old Nahul had to face myriad challenges to stay afloat and pursue his dreams.
As the state government announced the results of the SSLC examination on Wednesday, the tribal colony at Kalliyottu in Kasaragod erupted in celebration. Nahul, son of community head (ooru mooppan) N Narayanan, has scored A Plus in all subjects, a rare achievement for children from the tribal community. Nahul belongs to the Malavettruvan tribe, a community of hunters traditionally.
“There are two government employees in our hamlet and I too wanted my children to secure government jobs. Nahul was good in studies right from the primary classes and teachers used to encourage him saying he has a good future. He is the youngest of my three children. Both my daughters have completed the Plus Two course,” said Narayanan, beaming with pride.
Nahul and his parents thank the teachers at the government school in Kalliyottu for having guided him. His father is a farm worker while his mother Mambi works under the employment guarantee scheme. Narayanan leads the colony which has 55 families. Nahul said virtual education was the biggest challenge he faced. There is a community study centre in the colony where educated youth help children with their studies.
‘My sister & I shared phone to study’
“There was only one phone and I had to share it with my sister. We couldn’t follow classes streamed by the Kite Victers channel due to the language problem. Our teachers used to clear the doubts through WhatsApp and the two-month offline revision crash course at the school at the fag-end of the academic year helped me a lot,” said Nahul.
“Usually, I revise lessons during the night. But it was a struggle to download the notes due to poor net connectivity. My sisters Namitha and Nikitha helped me a lot,” he said