Dehradun’s Prem Nagar police station may look like a regular station. But everyday at 9.30 am, it functions as a school for the neighbourhood’s underprivileged kids. Students between four and 12 years are brought in from the Nanda ki Chowki slum area.
The classes go on for six hours, till 3.30 pm, as students learn a variety of subjects. The Times of India reports that these kids have never undergone any formal schooling and before their move into the police compound, were taught on the pavement opposite the police station by volunteers of Dehradun-based NGO, Aasraa Trust.
Dehradun police station turns school for slum kids https://t.co/f0qfsGAHuA via @TOICitiesNews pic.twitter.com/8nIdM1neHI
— Times of India (@timesofindia) September 1, 2018
After station officer Mukesh Tyagi expressed concern about children sitting so close to incoming traffic, the school was shifted under his care. As soon as the kids were technically under police protection, more parents started sending their children to the school.
Operating from the police station, the school is thriving. Donors are providing for the kids’ needs, with one providing the Rs 5,000 per month charge for the school van, while another has chipped in to provide free school bags.
The kids are taught Hindi, English, arithmetic, and those who can read are given history and geography lessons. The number of students has gone up to 51 from just 10 when it started in March.
Sometimes even the cops, especially the 10 policewomen who are part of the station, take over in a teaching capacity. Although the trust hasn’t asked them to teach, the cops show interest in educating the children during their spare time.
