Free school near Yamuna Bank Metro station for poor children tries to fulfil their dreams

New Delhi: Starting with just two children in 2006 and now teaching over 200 students, Rajesh Kumar Sharma has travelled a long way in the last nine years. But his is not an ordinary school as he teaches children of labourers and daily wage earners at his 'Free School Under The Bridge'.

Teaching boys from 9 AM to 11 AM and girls from 2 PM to 4 PM on the black boards painted on the walls of Yamuna Bank Metro Station bridge, the free school is built for children living in nearby slums. "The children who have not thought of getting education are now near completing their schooling. My students can easily study in Sarvodaya Vidyalaya," says Sharma.

Sharma aspired to be an engineer but had to leave his studies due to financial constraints. "The proudest moment would be when one of my students will become an engineer," he says.

Students sit on rugs braving the extreme weather and are eager to attend the school. "I am in class VI and have been studying here for the last 5 years. I like to come here everyday," says Bunty Mohammad, one of the students.

When asked how did the idea of opening the school come, Sharma explains, "I just came here to see the metro in 2006 and saw children playing. I talked to their parents and told them the importance of education. Children were also willing to study. Till 2009, classes were held in jhuggis and when they were broken, classes were started under the metro station bridge," says Sharma.

Sharma, a general store owner in Shakarpur in east Delhi, teaches from Monday to Saturday. "There are issues with the open school as people defecate in the open and it is always different from a closed room."

Laxmi Chandra, Shyam Mehta and Vasant Guruji are other teaches at the free school.

In the monsoon, other issues take a lot of their time and effort school as the place where the school is situated is water logged and it has to be shifted to a nearby place.

When asked why he did not approach the government, Sharma says, "I do not want politics to be played over it. Everyone knows about the school but then also no help is extended. MLA Nitin Tyagi came before Delhi polls, but after winning he never came. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia increased the education budget but then also no help has been extended."