Mumbai: Andheri night school has auto driver, security guard, anganwadi worker among students

Mehboob drives a rickshaw from 5 am to 5 pm Yet when he opens his books at 7 pm at the Ratra Vidyalaya in Andheri hersquos all attention ldquoMy brain feels fresh during those two hours in schoolrsquorsquo says the 35yearoldNeeding a Std VIII pass qualification for his driving licence Mehboob approached the municipal school in which he had studied up to Std III as a child only to be directed to the free night school running on the same premises Mehboob completed his Std VIII but has stayed on to finish Std X Though he had originally studied in the Hindi medium and Ratra Vidyalaya is Marathi medium the teachers make it easy for him he saysNight school students in the computer lab at Vidyanidhi JuhuMirabai Sanap too needed a Std VIII qualification when she became an anganwadi worker Early marriage had forced the 46yearold to drop out of her village school Decades later she has returned to studies at Ratra VidyalayaThe best endorsement for a school comes from its students Exstudent Mohan Ingale canrsquot stop praising his teachers starting from principal V J Rupavate who comes to class early and on Sundays to teach students at their convenience ldquoThe teachers looked after me more than my parents didrsquorsquo says the 33yearoldWhen he joined the school Ingale was delivering computers Today hersquos a qualified computer mechanic selfemployed now because the lockdown cost him his job Mahindra Kambli a peon at Bhavanrsquos College Andheri for the last 18 years has a chance to be promoted as library attendant now that hersquos finished his Std X courtesy Ratra VidyalayaThe students with a science competition prizeldquoWhy should people spend their lives as delivery boys peons and housemaids If they pass Std X they can look for better jobsrsquorsquo says Sanjeev Mantri whose father Sriram founded Upanagar Shikshan Mandal USM in 1956 with the help of a few fellow teachers Having had to struggle to get educated after his father died early Sriram Mantri then a school teacher wanted to help others like himRatra Vidyalaya was his first school started in 1957 He knew a night school had to be near a railway station to attract working people so he rented four rooms at the Cama Road Municipal School near Andheri station Four years later he started the second such school Vikas Ratra Vidyalaya near Santacruz StationIn 1971 Mantri founded Juhursquos Vidyanidhi School for lowincome parents Today like USMrsquos other educational institutions Vidyanidhi High School is much soughtafter Its computer and science labs are used by the night school students on holidaysStudents get ready for a session on sportsUnfortunately not all of them can avail of this advantage Rajaram Dawre cannot afford to keep his shoe repair stall closed even for a day especially since the lockdown has hit him hard Itrsquos equally hard for women both Mirabai Sanap and anganwadi teacher Aadil Khan who went back to school after her children had grown up wish they could have attended class regularly but family came first They have fond memories however of acing sports events and handicraft competitions at the schoolUnlike the others Raamana Dusalwar didnrsquot drop out of school to help support his family he was expelled for being too naughty Now a sober 18yearold he diligently logs on to Ratra Vidyalayarsquos online classes every evening on his phone hoping to ultimately enter college and find a better job than his last one as a security guard at a construction site which he lost in the lockdownAs adults these students find it easier to understand their lessons than they could as children Where they canrsquot they get help not only from their teachers but also from their children and sometimes from their wivesMehboob an auto ownerdriver needed to clear Std VIII for a driving licence He has now stayed to finish Std XStudent numbers were already reducing says Sanjeev Mantri because adults today prefer to appear for the Std X exam privately But the lockdown made it worse it prevented teachers from going to bastis on their annual hunt for fresh students accompanied by their alumni Open House at Vidyanidhirsquos Marathi school was used as an opportunity to urge parents to resume their education With schools closed that too has stopped Mantri however feels the classrooms may again be full all it takes is for educated Mumbaikars to motivate the many school dropouts around them1957The year in which Ratra Vidyalaya started