prasad1
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Every day, Aditya Kumar cycles around 40 miles with a heavy load of books and his few possessions on the back of his battered old bike to bring education to India's slum children.
The science graduate has dedicated his life to teaching in the slums of Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, and home to some of the country's most deprived communities. He takes no money for his lessons, which he gives all over the city, parking his bike up wherever he is needed and staging an impromptu outdoor lesson.
"These children do not know what a classroom looks like. Until I met them, they had no reason to visit a school," Kumar told AFP during one of his lessons, gesturing to a group of rapt-looking pupils.
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Only one quarter of children aged eight could read a text book meant for seven year olds, the survey of 570,000 students found.
"Overall, the situation with basic reading continues to be extremely disheartening in India," the survey, by Indian education research group Pratham, concluded. Kumar's solo efforts are applauded by child rights activists, including teacher Roop Rekha Verma who said it was "no mean feat" teaching from a bike.
"I am so glad that his efforts have exposed so many underprivileged children to the world of words," the former vice-chancellor of the University of Lucknow told AFP. "And with this exposure these children now have a reason to attempt accessing newspapers and books," she said.
But she stressed much more needed to be done to help India's millions of impoverished children facing bleak futures receive an education.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...lucknow-s-slum-children/article1-1325036.aspx
