Kochi:
A small tile house in Muppathmad near Ernakulam has been receiving several visitors in recent times. People are originally coming to meet and greet a young woman Dhaksh of Bihar, whose life story has now found her way in the school curriculum.
Twelve years ago, Dharksha moved from Bihar to Kerala.
Now, a friend as a letter to a friend – where she remembers her childhood in Bihar and her life has changed after going to Kerala – the sixth standard students in Kerala have been included in the new textbook.
The memoir written in Malayalam, Thojilinte Ruchi, Bhabhideyam (which translates to labor and taste of language) recalls how her rebellious family, Darbanga had no resources or proper educational infrastructure in their original village, rebuilt their lives after reaching Kerala.
It also reveals how in the special education program of the Kerala government, the lights designed for children of migrant laborers helped them achieve their dreams.
“In Bihar, I studied up to the third standard. The school had no benches, desks, or even enough teachers. When we came to Kerala, I joined the 4th standard here. We had everything we needed – good furniture, books, and teachers. My brothers also joined the school here,” Sayed by an excited Dharaksha.
Dharam soon started learning Malayalam and even read the children of migrant laborers in government schools under the Ronnie program.
Dharksha said, “When children join schools here, children have to face difficulties in language, so I helped them to use my basic understanding about their knowledge of Hindi and Bengali and Oriya.”
Her father, Muhammad Sameer, works in a footwear manufacturing company in Ernakulam, and from a young age, Dharaksha was eager to earn something on his own. He is a passion for fashion design and enrolled in an ITI course immediately after completing his 10th standard.
He said, “I wanted to study fashion design because I have always been emotional about making clothes. Now I am working in that field and I am also taking a degree in Hindi language through distance education from Indira Gandhi National Open University.”
Her mother, Razia is a letter, a housewife. Her brothers-Mohmd Sameer, Mess College, Marampili, and Mohammad Adil are two students in GHSS Mupapathdam.
In a recent ceremony in Kochi, where Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also present, Dharaksha said how the strong public education system of the state in Kerala helped him get a good education.
He requested the CM to expand the Roshni Yojana in all government schools across the state.
“I was told that the Chief Minister agreed to my suggestion to expand the scheme in all schools. I have not yet received confirmation,” said Dhaksh.
Her biggest dream is the owner of a house in Kerala, and she is now working hard to make that dream a reality. Dharksha said, “I love this state and consider the arrival of the greatest luck in my life. Everyone has supported me and encouraged me here.”
It was a teacher of Palakkad, who, after hearing the story of Dhaksh, encouraged him to write his experiences.
His account was later included in the syllabus for students of sixth grade by the State Government’s Textbook Committee.
Talking to PTI, the IAS of the Director General of Education Shanwas said that the memoir of Dharksha was the best representation of the efforts of the state education department to bring the children of guest workers to the mainstream.
It is achieved by offering training in Malayalam, while facilities have also been used to help children learn their languages through the Roshni Project.
“We recommended the writing of Dhaksh to the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) course committee, and he admitted that the girl’s writing in Malayalam was of high quality and a real account of the benefits of Roshni Yojana. Therefore, he decided to include it in the sixth standard course from this academic year.”
He said that, based on the request of the girl, the government has taken steps to increase the Roshni project in all government schools as well.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
