Children learn making 'bhakri' & other skills to become independent

Children from a small village in Maharashtra, most of whose parents are migrant labourers, are mastering the skill of making their staple food 'bhakri', other basic meal items and to take care of themselves so that they do not discontinue studies when their parents are not around.

The initiative, started by a teacher at the Kulalwadi Zilla Parishad School in Jath tehsil of Sangli, has not only improved the enrolment rate of students, but other schools in the region are also following the initiative, an education officer in Sangli said while appreciating the campaign.

The parents of most of these students are sugarcane labourers and migrate from Kulalwadi village to other regions to cut the crop before the cane crushing season starts ahead of Diwali festival.

As the children earlier had no option but to go with their parents, they would drop out from school, discontinuing their studies. Bhaktraj Garje, a teacher at the Kulalwadi ZP School, got an idea in 2016 of helping these students of Classes 1 to 8 to continue their education even in the absence of their parents. He encouraged them to stay back home, learn making bhakri and other basic food items and at the same time study at the school.

Bhakri is part of the staple meal in Maharashtra and is made by flattening jowar, bajra or rice flour dough with one's palms.

To generate the interest of these children in learning the art of making a perfectly round bhakri, Garje also started organising competitions in the school.

"Today, we have 240 students enrolled in the school as compared to 80 a few years ago, and the dropout percentage is nearly zero. The parents are also happy that their children do not have to leave their studies and also not follow them wherever they go," he said.