Extraordinary Teacher, Exceptional Leader: Meet Ravindra Kumar Singh

With 225 students registered with the school, the school has provided projector, white board, solar fan and smart class facility in each of its classroom.

Just as the saying “The purpose of Social Work should not be to distribute favors but to restore rights”, by Adolf Hitler, the hero of this story Ravindra Kumar Singh, a primary school headmaster from small town of Bhitari in the district of Varanasi, is not just any other common name.

He is someone who has always challenged the Jati Pratha or the caste system, for which he faced a lot of backlashes from the community as well his colleagues. In spite of all the negative reactions he stood by the right thing. For him, the school is not just an ordinary government school as most people imagine. It is a temple that he decorates and uses as a weapon to fight the illiteracy in our country. He wants all his students to treat and value the school as their own homes. He has personally looked after and maintained all the past records of the students and school related activities.

Apart from this he is a socially active person who has taken the initiative to start a network of teachers, Mission Siksha Samwad, within the district to learn and develop together. In the year 2019, for his relentless efforts to impart education Mr. Ravindra was awarded with the prestigious State Teacher’s Award by the Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath.

Class in a train

In an effort to make education exciting, the classes at the primary school of Bhitari have been re-painted and given a look of a train. The school premises will also be turned into a railway station. Anything that just adds a little color to the lives of the students and makes it interesting for them to learn is a piece of innovation itself. The step was granted and funded by the government scheme- Sarv Sikhsha Abhyan.

According to Mr. Ravindra, this will also include messages regarding cleanliness and Swachta Abhyan posters to inculcate the habit of keeping the surroundings tidy. It will be an opportunity for the students to keep everything clean and make their school beautiful, treating it like their home. This type of innovation in a government school shows how hard work can make dreams come true. The list of advancement is never ending. With 225 students registered with the school, the school has provided projector, white board, solar fan and smart class facility in each of its classroom. The school also has unique amenities like R.O for clean drinking water, Rain water harvesting system and high speed wi-fi as the need of the hour.

Beyond the world of Books

The headmaster ensures that the children do not become book-worms. They should head high and prepare to tackle life by knowing the necessary aspects. If the students arrive early to school, he teaches them morals, etiquettes and importance of respecting elders. Innovative techniques are used to combine physical games and bookish knowledge. The physical activities complete the all-round development of the children.

Children are rewarded on the basis of their performance so that a competitive environment exists where each child strives to improve him/herself. It is quite inspiring to see a principal playing with the children. It teaches the importance of physical exercise and engages students positively. Children become the reflection of what they see and notice, when they have a teacher like Mr Ravindra, they inculcate a lot beyond the world of books.

Turning Dreams to Reality

On the occasion of Women’s day, a girl from class 5 took charge as a principal for a day from their regular headmaster. She was assisted by a few of her fellow mates to discharge her duties. This not only motivated the students but the message of woman empowerment was spread around in the village positively. The school hence decided to carry forward the idea every month in different ways to develop leadership quality, recognition and sense of responsibility of each of the 225 students.

Not just saying, but changing the ground level reality means actual work. A small step towards women empowerment brought a change in thinking of many other students and sent a positive message in the village residence to welcome the change with open arms.

Student Bank and Bal Sansad

The student bank here is defined as a store of stationery items required by the students. The bank contains a set 20 pencils, erasers. sharpeners and a few reading books, available in the principal’s room for any student. Now the students do not have to run back home to get their belongings in case they forget, they can borrow it from the school for free and return it at the end of the day when the school gets over. The responsibility to manage this is on the Bal-Sansad, a bunch of special selected students by the principal on the basis of their performance in academics, physical acts and cleanliness. These students are considered as important members of the school. They’ll learn to bridge up the gap between other classmates and teachers.

Complaint Box

Knowing that not all students are comfortable in sharing their opinions or problems with their class teachers/ friends, the headmaster, Mr. Ravindra decided to set up a complaint box for anonymous confessions or complaints by the students. According to him, many students, specially the female students aren’t very open but shouldn’t be ignored and left alone. This initiative will ensure that their problems are resolved. The responsibility to open the box and read all the cases is given to a particular teacher, who is supposed to go through it, without fail, from time to time so that the time gap isn’t much.

At last, it takes courage to row the boat against the stream of the water, the same way Mr. Ravindra has been contributing to the education of these students while fighting with the orthodox ideologies of the society from where they originate. It is important for us to recognize them for what they do for our nation and encourage them in every possible way.