Nikunj Trivedi (31), a civil engineer working for a private firm in Halol, Panchmahal district, has been coaching children from low-income families for two hours every day after work.
Every evening, 55 children from Vadodara’s Tulsiwadi area gather under the streetlights on a busy footpath to attend classes led by a volunteer to help them cope with academic progress in schools that have reopened after a long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trivedi has been coaching kids for about five years now, but the numbers have significantly risen from 15 in pre-Covid19 years to 55 in the recent months.
Lessons are taught on a whiteboard pinned to the compound wall running along the footpath.
Trivedi, whose maternal uncle and two brothers earn a livelihood by performing Karam Kandi rituals, says, “We had 15 students before Covid-19 broke out. The online education system during lockdown did not work for many poor families, either because they did not have mobile phones or because the parents are not educated enough to help them. After the lockdown eased, many parents began sending their children to the footpath class. We have 55 students now.”
Trivedi says that teaching students from low-income families is his way of giving back to society after overcoming challenges in his life. “I started teaching children through a local group around four years ago… the group eventually dissolved but I continued to teach the children… I lost my father very early in life and I have seen my mother struggle to raise the family,” he says.
The class has about 35 students from the pre-primary and primary sections and about 20 students from secondary section classes, who attend government schools or who have been admitted under the Right to Education quota in private schools.
“Most of the children are enrolled at local schools but they have missed out on a lot during the lockdown. Since we could not conduct the classes regularly during the lockdown for older children, I am revising the basics that they had learnt before the Covid-19 pandemic… These are not children from internet-savvy families or literate parents who can prioritise education over earning the daily bread,” he adds.
As helping hands, Trivedi has now deployed two of his oldest students, whose education he has sponsored. “These two sisters and their mother were thrown out of their home after they lost their father a few years ago. I ensured that they completed their SSC and have now enrolled in the Arts stream. They are helping me teach the younger children every evening…”
Bhavna Jadav’s two sons — Krishna and Joy in Class 7 and 5, have been attending the classes since Trivedi began coaching the students. Jadav, whose husband is a cobbler, said, “Both my sons were admitted to a private school through the Right To Education quota. But, they are not able to cope with their studies in school. We cannot afford to send them to coaching classes. The class run by Nikunjbhai is a blessing. He not only teaches them the subjects but also life lessons. My older son, Krishna, also has an eye ailment and Nikunj bhai has also helped us with his treatment.”
Trivedi says, “I keep aside 20 per cent of my salary for these children. My family has been my biggest support…”