Teacher's Diary: ‘If I hadn't gone to that girl's house, she would have been a child bride today'

I joined Upper Primary School, Deva Shaili Atarauli, in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district in January, 2006. Along with teaching, I also discuss students' problems, which allows them to express themselves freely. In 2007, I was transferred to Primary School in Badori which is situated in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district and soon I realised that the children were quite upset.

A child even brought his piggy bank and said, "Ma'am, if you need money, take it, but don't leave from here." The love of the children is the most precious thing for me. When I was leaving, there were tears in the eyes of every child. It was a very emotional moment. Mobile phones were not as common at that time; otherwise, I would have saved those memories. I still talk to many of those children, and we often keep in touch over the phone.

Once, a girl in my class told me that her elder sister doesn't come to school. She has only studied till the fifth grade and now stays at home. When I asked her about it, the girl told me that her parents are not educated, and her sister couldn't get admission to school.

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Curious to know more about the girl, I went to her house and discovered that she was slightly older than the allowed age for our school. Our school requires students to be 14 years old, but she had turned 15.

When I spoke to her parents, I learned that they wanted to get her married. They said, "We have four daughters, and we need to get them married." I explained to them that the girl is still very young, and I would arrange for her admission to school. I advised them not to proceed with the marriage at this stage.

Then, I took responsibility and spoke to the ABSA (Admission and Basic Shiksha Adhikari) to get the girl admitted to a school. I also provided her with financial assistance. My efforts paid off, and presently she is studying well. Whenever I talk to her, she says, "Ma'am, you have transformed my life”.

As recorded by Ambika Tripathi who interns for Gaon Connection