PATNA: Three youths, all postgraduates in different subjects, have come together to teach children in the flood-hit areas of Bihar’s Katihar district on a boat.
Through ‘Boat ki Pathshala,’ they reach the fully inundated Singhala tola of Manihari sub-division to teach such children. Around 40 children studying from class 1 to 10, get free tutorials on the boat.
Among those children, there are a dozen of them who would appear in the all important Class 10 exam next year.
Located along the Ganga, the Manihari sub-division in Katihar district braves flood fury every year. Elsewhere too in the state, floods have ravaged many districts with thousands forced to take refuge in camps.
Ravindra Kumar Mandal (30), Pankaj Kumar Sah (26) and Kundan Kumar Sah (36) also run a free coaching centre.
“At the coaching centre, we don’t charge the tuition fee for students from Class 1 to 10,” said Mandal.
“When the flood water entered the Singhala tola recently, the students, especially from Class 10, faced school closure. Since they will have Board exams next year and there is no way right now to help them with their studies, we thought why not take a boat and reach them,” he said over the phone, claiming all safety measures are followed for children.
The objective behind providing free teaching to the students of interiors of Katihar is to make them educational empowered, Mandal said.Apart from taking classes, the trio also help their students by providing stationery items like pencils.
On Monday, the district education department of Katihar sent an official and advised the three youths to take the children to a dryland rather than teaching them aboard a boat for safety.
Mandal informed that the flood situation in this part of the district persists for six months and that free teaching rendered by them would continue till then.