Pune: 11 students who lost parents to Covid-19 stay in school with Zilla Parishad teachers’ help

PUNE: Four Zilla Parishad teachers from Ambegaon taluka will take care of the study material for 11 students who lost one or both parents to Covid-19. They are already looking after 50 other students and their studies since 2018. The group plans to do so till the children pass Std X as it will keep them in school instead of dropping out.
“We have a target of 25 students but have 11 such children for now.We have sought information from teachers and others to send the death certificate of the parent to confirm the authenticity of the claim. Students in ZP schools receive textbooks, but no notebooks or uniforms. We provide them with notebooks, uniforms, sweater, stationery, school bag, raincoat, lunch box and all such things during the start of an academic year so that they do not give up education for want of these,” Datta Walunj, one of the four teachers, said. The others are Nandakumar Yewale, Surendra Doke and Kisan Kondhawale.

Walunj, in 2018, had noticed two of his bright students in Std I and III not paying attention in class. When he visited their home, he had found that they had lost their father, and their mother had remarried. He knew it would be hard on the poor grandparents. Since the ZP school gives free education and midday meals, he decided to buy them the rest.
It made him want to do more, and he requested fellow teachers to send him the names of such students. He got 18 more names.
“In 2019, we got more such cases and by the end of the year we were sponsoring 50 children. Most had lost one or both their parents while the remaining come from very poor tribal families,” Kondhawale said.
Yewale said it is his responsibility to help them. “ No student must feel left out for lack of resources. Helping everyone is not possible, but I want to assist as many in my taluka,” Yewale added.
“These students are weak both financially and emotionally. We want to reduce their everyday struggle at least for academics. Education is the most powerful skill to survive in this world,” Doke said.