At Khora, an unauthorised colony in Ghaziabad, education was a far cry — and education for girls even more unthinkable. But things changed in 2007.
Khora, an unauthorised colony in Ghaziabad, has often been in the news for all the wrong reasons — for violence, especially against women, and for being on the back burner in terms of development. For this colony, education was a far cry — and education for girls even more unthinkable.
But things changed in 2007, when Rasta, a school for the underprivileged, opened there. The NGO that opened the school, also called Rasta, works for the welfare of women and children.
In the words of KC Panth, founder of the school and secretary of the NGO: “The credit for the Rasta school goes to a group of socially conscious individuals who were disturbed at the sight of children rummaging through garbage heaps — and small girls standing at traffic signals, begging.”
UP government recognised the school in 2015
He added, “Our staff would go door to door, and urge girls and their parents to attend our non-formal study classes. Slowly, things started looking up. While initially, the school had only 40 girls attending classes, the number increased to 300 in three months! Today, our school is formally recognised and is educating 780 girls — 85 per cent of them are from downtrodden Muslim families. They attend classes from pre-school to Class X. Our first batch of 15 girls cleared Class X in 2013-14.”
The UP government recognised the school in 2015. The two-storey school has bathrooms for the students — almost a privilege for these kids. Unbelievably, it also has space for a smart class. The entire show is run by a staff of all-female teachers, numbering 20, including the school principal. When Rasta was first opened, the monthly school fee was Rs 40, but now it has increased to Rs 250.
The entire show at Rasta School is run by a staff of all-female teachers, numbering 20
On January 24, the school celebrated National Girls’ Day.
Joining the school in itself was no small win for the girls.
“My mother did not want to send me to school because there was a lot of household work to be done," recounted Mamta, now a Class VI student. "She always said 'studies will not help after marriage, so it’s better to pick up housework skills.'”
Hear her speak on how she convinced her parents to let her go to school in the video below.
"In 2012, two sisters — Rahil and Rehana Saifi — delayed their marriage, because they both wanted to study," said Panth. "For a Muslim girl, it was a big achievement! I am really proud of the work we do.”
Apart from formal classes, Rasta also organises a lot of campaigns and projects around women’s health, empowerment and other social issues. It also offers vocational training for girls.
