Early on 14 September, Umashankar Thakur’s teenage daughter acquired on her bicycle and headed for her teaching institute in Patori city of Samastipur, Bihar, about 14 km from her dwelling in Karnauti village in Vaishali.
The Class 10 pupil was amongst 300 others, principally women, who noticed Thakur’s Daughters Development Group as a gateway to a lifetime of hope and success. But the 14-year-old, the one lady amongst Thakur’s three youngsters, by no means acquired to the place she needed. Police say she was shot and killed by a bunch of six folks led by a person who had an altercation with them a number of days in the past.
Within the subsequent 10 days, all of the accused had been arrested and despatched to jail. And per week later, Thakur returned to the institute. “Among all these girls, I see my daughter, who cycled 10-15 kms from their villages to the coaching centres,” says the 45-year-old.
In the final 18 years, ever since Thakur give up his job as a marine engineer in Mumbai and began this establishment to “raise the education profile” of rural college students of Samastipur and Vaishali, “DDG” has gained an influential The Board of Honor has created: 30 authorities jobs, 4 IIT seats, 10 NIT slots, three NEET successes, over 100 military jobs, 70 police placements and about 40 Group-D jobs in Railways.
“The list of successful students has more than 30 girls. We help all of them prepare for competitive exams or crack school exams from class 9-12 onwards,” says Thakur. “We also talk to students about issues like feticide and dowry system, and try to create awareness among them.”
The middle expenses Rs 300 per 30 days for six hours of teaching on daily basis, and employs 5 different academics.
Kriti Kumari, the daughter of a farmer pursuing her B.Ed diploma, says, “This institute has filled me with so much confidence.” “I’ve been coming right here for a 12 months. I’m now satisfied that I I can converse anyplace,” says Neha Kumari, a Class 12 pupil and daughter of a non-public agency worker.
In 2002, Thakur accomplished his marine engineering course from TS Chanakya and acquired a job in a multinational firm. “But I thought I was going back home to be with my own people. I quit the job, returned and started this institute in 2003,” he says.
The result’s clear – within the phrases and actions of his college students.
“I used to cycle 12 km daily from my village Jalalpur in Samastipur to reach the institute. My bicycle was stolen, but I made sure to continue attending back-and-forth riding classes on my friend’s bicycle. Uma sir’s innovative teaching style generated curiosity and instilled a lot of confidence in us. I made it to IIT-Kharagpur in 2015,” says Dhananjay Kumar.
“When I look back, I feel a sense of gratitude towards the teacher who left a life of comfort for rural students. No one in my family thought I would go to IIT. My father is still Back home runs a provision store,” says Kumar, now a software program engineer based mostly in Bengaluru.
Then there’s Ravi Roshan, who was one in all Thakur’s early college students and has now joined him as a college member on the centre.
Rahul Kumar, who joined the National Defense Academy in 2013 and is now a lieutenant within the Navy based mostly at Visakhapatnam, says: “Uma sir’s educating model was very descriptive and thought-provoking. He is an all-rounder who teaches Physics, Chemistry, History and Geography. Whatever I’m right now is due to academics like Uma sir.”
And but, all of them settle for that Thakur is now dealing with the most important problem of his life.
Vaishali Superintendent of Police Manish says, “We have arrested six folks in reference to the homicide of Umshankar Thakur’s teenage daughter. The most important accused, who had prison antecedents, had an argument with the lady when he inadvertently hit her together with his cycle. He was monitoring her actions on that route since that incident.”
“Despite this tragedy, Thakur’s commitment to education remains unwavering. I have gone to his institute. He has done a great service to the society. We need many people like him who can nurture rural talent,” says Anand Kumar, the mathematics instructor behind Bihar’s common Super 30 teaching program.
Julie Kumari, 20, in Patori says that DDG is not only about schooling and social points. “We also organize beauty pageants, and painting and cooking competitions. It is something about this center that attracts students from far-flung villages,” she says.
Looking at her with a faint smile, Thakur says: “My daughter has not gone anyplace. He’s right here, each Julie.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
