Nukkad Paathshala: Education with Rhyme and Reason
Who is the Prime Minister of India? ..... Big chorus , Narendra Modi ! Who is the Father of the Nation? …. Big chorus again , Gandhiji ! Now comes the tough one. Who is the Defence Minister of India? ….. Silence; a few mumbled a few names; finally a young child from class IV reluctantly says Nirmala !!! I was stunned. These children DO know. These are children from a study center called Nukkad Paathshala (which translates into “street corner study center”) in a colony for socially deprived sections of the society. Many such colonies exist, which are named as Ambedkar Nagar, Adi Dravidar Colony, MGR Nagar etc., and are normally isolated from the main part of the village. WHAT IS NUKKAD PAATHSHAALA ? Nukkad Paathshala is a coaching-cum-education center that operates in the gully of the colony where the socially and economically deprived sections live in a village. Most of the houses in the colony are either with thatched roof or cover