KOCHI : Preparing for the upcoming Plus-II examination, Aryan is eyeing a turnaround. Having previously failed the examination in 2022 and taken on odd jobs, the 19-year-old is now determined to secure a job and support his father, mother, and younger sister. His aspirations were reignited by the 'HOPE' project, introduced by Kerala police to assist people to complete or pursue their education.
“The ‘Helping Others Promote Education’ initiative is intended to give wings to the dreams of those who have tasted failure in life,” says Aryan, from Valayanchirangara, Perumbavoor.
“I was desperate about my future and during that time I received a call from Perumbavoor police asking me to join the program. I met the district coordinator of the project and attended an orientation meeting. It infused me with confidence. Currently, I am under the guidance of Kakkanad-based Nanma Foundation,” he said.
'HOPE', the brainchild of ADGP P Vijayan, was initiated in 2017 to help school dropouts and students who land in police custody.
Under Ernakulam Rural police, the initiative has helped 90 students from disadvantaged backgrounds clear their grade 10 and 12 exams in the last six years. This year, 64 students will be taking their Plus-II examination.
To identify vulnerable students, the project brings together community policing officers, NGOs and school authorities. These students are then provided counselling and training by experts, including retired teachers, volunteers, and even police officers with teaching experience. An effective screening mechanism and the service of committed officers helped rural police provide a new life to several students under the project, said Ernakulam Rural SP Vaibhav Saxena. “Several issues, including broken families and other social stigma, force many students to discontinue their studies. We extend help to such students. Many of our officers have even spent money from their pockets on the students. They look after these students like their own kids,” the SP said.
Ernakulam Rural additional SP is the nodal officer of the project in the district, while V S Shihab is its coordinator. Rural police have two HOPE centres -- Edathala MES BEd Training College and North Paravoor Lakshmi College, says Shihab. “When SSLC and Plus-II results are published, we alert all police stations under our limits. Officers make a list of students who failed the exams and make calls asking them to reappear. We then approach the parents of students and inform them about the project. Parents feel assured as the project is run by police,” he added.
Shihab, who was a teacher by profession before joining the police service, also takes classes for students.
The success of the project was the motivation to strengthen it further and bring more vulnerable children under its fold.