Express News Service
KOLKATA: Sahebdanga, a tribal-inhabited village in Bolpur, Birbhum, finally witnessed a silver lining last week when four girls of the poverty-stricken hamlet became the first among women in the village who passed the Class X examination against all odds and hardships.
Basanti Tudu, Latika Murmu, Meeru Hansda and Sumitra Tudu have set an example of determination. All of them met a common plight during their childhood when they lost their father. They had to join their mother to work as daily wage earners.
“It was a very tough situation. After working throughout the day as a daily labourer, I used to sit with textbooks. I used to feel sleepy because I would be very tired but my determination to clear the Class X examination would keep me awake. No girl in our village appeared in the examination before,” recounted Latika, who studied in Bolpur Paruldanga Shikshaniketan.
The total literacy rate of Bolpur Sriniketan block, where Latika’s village is located, is 70.67 per cent and the female literacy rate is 56.55 per cent in the area. Basanti, Meeru and Sumitra faced the same plight that Latika did.
“The nearest high school is four km from our village with no public transport facility. On the way to school, we had to cross three fields, where the land was barren with no trees in sight to offer us sheds during summers or monsoons. But all my pain seemed worth it when I found my name in the list of successful candidates who appeared in this year’s Class X board exam,” said Meeru.
Basanti’s mother Lakhhi Tudu, who works as a daily labourer, said none of her family studied before. “We could not even imagine appearing in Class X examination. My daughter’s sheer willpower won,” she said.
The teenagers said they would encourage other girls in the village to pursue their education. “Many leave education midway due to poverty. We will make them aware on why it is important. We will help them in every possible way so that no one stops going to school,” said Sumitra. Recently, a welfare organisation adopted the village for its development.
KOLKATA: Sahebdanga, a tribal-inhabited village in Bolpur, Birbhum, finally witnessed a silver lining last week when four girls of the poverty-stricken hamlet became the first among women in the village who passed the Class X examination against all odds and hardships.
Basanti Tudu, Latika Murmu, Meeru Hansda and Sumitra Tudu have set an example of determination. All of them met a common plight during their childhood when they lost their father. They had to join their mother to work as daily wage earners.
“It was a very tough situation. After working throughout the day as a daily labourer, I used to sit with textbooks. I used to feel sleepy because I would be very tired but my determination to clear the Class X examination would keep me awake. No girl in our village appeared in the examination before,” recounted Latika, who studied in Bolpur Paruldanga Shikshaniketan.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The total literacy rate of Bolpur Sriniketan block, where Latika’s village is located, is 70.67 per cent and the female literacy rate is 56.55 per cent in the area. Basanti, Meeru and Sumitra faced the same plight that Latika did.
“The nearest high school is four km from our village with no public transport facility. On the way to school, we had to cross three fields, where the land was barren with no trees in sight to offer us sheds during summers or monsoons. But all my pain seemed worth it when I found my name in the list of successful candidates who appeared in this year’s Class X board exam,” said Meeru.
Basanti’s mother Lakhhi Tudu, who works as a daily labourer, said none of her family studied before. “We could not even imagine appearing in Class X examination. My daughter’s sheer willpower won,” she said.
The teenagers said they would encourage other girls in the village to pursue their education. “Many leave education midway due to poverty. We will make them aware on why it is important. We will help them in every possible way so that no one stops going to school,” said Sumitra. Recently, a welfare organisation adopted the village for its development.
