Education changing lives of Mahadalit children in Rohtas

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Sasaram : A house where girls earn by dancing and singing and the entire atmosphere reverberated with sounds of ghungharoos, just 100 metre away from the SDO residence in Bikramganj in Rohtas district was converted into a government school about 11 year back and children of mahadalit locality study there. The lives of  0utpeople living  in this mahadalit locality have completely changed.

At least 25 families of Nat community lived in this mahadalit locality and earned their livelihood by singing and dancing,their traditional profession. But with the change in atmosphere, the elders of these families are sendgin their children to government schools to study. Anita, Manju, Rekha, professional dancers and singers, said that earlier the girls were cursed to adopt their professional business but now they prefer to send their children to schools. They said that they wish to make their children officers.

Munna Kumar, son of Gayatri Devi of this locality, is an engineer in Odisha while her daughter is studying in a government school and wants to be an officer. Another resident of the locality Rabindra Kumar is in army while Prity Kumari, daughter of Anita Devi, is studying IIT in Bhopal. Anita Devi said that she is earning by singing and dancing for the study of her daughter.

Block Education Officer, Bikramganj, Kamlesh Kumar Singh said that it is very inspiring that the children of down- trodden and deprived classes are now studying and are doing well. He said that the government have launched a number of welfare schemes for such students and the schemes started bearing fruits. The government directed the private schools to admit poor students in their institutions not less than 25% of their total strength and ensure their study free of cost.