On the Nigagundi Ambedkar College, you’ll be greeted with vibrant, vibrant partitions, plush infrastructure, lush bushes and a sprawling backyard, and a library stacked with pictorial books and audio-visual assets in English and Kannada alike. At this time this faculty, positioned within the Nidagundi taluk of Vijayapur district, Karnataka, is a far cry from what it was once — dilapidated and with out even the minimal facilities.
These outstanding enhancements have resulted in a surge of enthusiasm among the many youngsters within the village to attend faculty. Consequently, the scholar enrollment has grown from 76 to 136.
So how did the change occur? For this, we should thank 39-year-old Veeranna Madiwalar’s efforts.
“It didn’t happen in a single day. It was a gradual journey, and everybody performed a component in it,” he tells The Higher India. “At this time, the college stands proudly, and the scholars have a spot they genuinely get pleasure from learning in.”
‘I needed to offer them what I didn’t have’
Born and introduced up in a small household in Kaliwal village in Karnataka, Veeranna’s childhood was rife with wrestle, he says.” “My dad and mom weren’t steady financially for a really very long time. My father was a each day wager and labored laborious, simply incomes sufficient to convey meals to the desk.”
Veeranna says that at the same time as his father struggled to make ends meet, it was very tough to pay his faculty charges. It was his uncle who supported his training. “He used to say that he noticed a changemaker and artist in me, and he needed me to finish my training.”
One factor that Veeranna was positive about as a pupil was that he desires to make training higher for future generations.
“I studied in a authorities faculty too, and the infrastructure, instructing strategies, and faculty grounds have been by no means up to speed. I at all times dreamt of bringing change as I grew up,” he says.
“I bear in mind my uncle introducing me to the world of Rabindranath Tagore. His literature amazed me and impressed me to jot down too. He believed in me a lot that even immediately it motivates me.”
After finishing his education, Veeranna needed to fund his greater training.
“In 2001 I went to Kopla for greater training. To fund myself, I labored as a each day wage earner at a development website for a lot of months,” he says.
After finishing a Diploma in Training, he moved again to his taluk. “I joined an NGO that labored for the rejuvenation of lakes and wildlife. I used to earn Rs 750 for working there and by saving cash, I used to be additional in a position to do a grasp’s in English and Kannada,” he says.
In 2007, his dream to grow to be a authorities faculty trainer got here true.
It takes a village
“I labored for 4 years earlier than being made the headmaster of Nidagundi Ambedkar College in 2016. By that point I had saved cash and was financially steady,” he says, including that the rundown constructing and lack of infrastructure was paying homage to his personal faculty’s state.
Utilizing his personal funds, he began small — first he planted just a few bushes throughout the campus, and launched restore work of the construction. “However I knew I couldn’t fund the restore of the college alone and would wish extra assist.”
And so he used the ability of social media to boost cash. “I began posting photos of the college with my repairs on Fb. Phrase unfold and, surprisingly, many individuals got here ahead to assist me,” he says.
Veeranna says he then had bogs constructed for college kids and workers, and repaired outdated furnishings, alongside bringing in new furnishings. “I used to remain within the faculty after work hours to make this occur.”
Even college students started serving to within the repairing and maintenance of the college. “A gentleman from Mysuru donated almost Rs 1.5 Lakh for the college. One other particular person from Chanapatna donated a wise TV to the college,” he shares.
It was the mixed efforts of such those that the college is in such fine condition now. “With the assistance of social media, I used to be in a position to get a superb quantity of donations, which helped construct a language lab in class. The scholars, with the assistance of pictorial books and audio-visual assets, study English and Kannada,” he says.
‘I dwell my goals via my college students’
Till 2016, the college had a low attendance price of about 76 college students. Since its transformation, the enrollment has elevated to 136, says Veeranna.
“The change is wonderful,” says Suleman Sheikh, the cluster assets particular person of the college. “If you happen to would have seen the constructing again in 2016, it was in a really unhappy state. I’m one of many individuals who has witnessed the earlier than and after of this faculty. There are washrooms and correct seating amenities now.”
He provides, “When the college appears interesting, college students would need to come and research. Kids now flock right here each morning, and we have now seen an increase in attendance too.”
Veeranna notes, “Whereas I at all times needed to make faculties in villages higher, I additionally desired to review mechanical engineering as a younger boy. I didn’t have the cash to make that dream come true. Nonetheless, a pupil of mine not too long ago accomplished his diploma in mechanical engineering. That is my greatest win, and I dwell my goals via my college students.”
If you happen to want to assist Veeranna, you possibly can attain him at 99721 20570
(Edited by Divya Sethu)
