Dipali Sawant with some students from the ZP school in Kolhi village, Wardha.

PUNE: Dipali Sawant was completely unprepared for what she saw when she reached the zilla parishad school in Kolhi village, Wardha , to take over as a teacher in 2006. It was her first posting and she was the first woman to take up the position at this “durgam” (remote and difficult to reach) school.

While the dilapidated building, absence of an access road and failure to find a decent house to rent did bother her, they did not faze her. Instead, she was determined to turn things around.

Today, the same school, which has classes till Class V, is often touted as an exemplary model and is visited by education officials and teachers who want to learn from its success.

“When I first saw the village, I realized how neglected it was. There was no pucca road and the bus service was not punctual. The school building looked like it would fall apart,” said Sawant.

“My immediate need was to find a house to live in. After much searching, I found a sort-of-pucca house in a nearby village. My husband would drop me and pick me up after work,” she added.

Soon work on the school structure began, and within two years, there was a pucca building. “I started teaching the students. I believe there is no substitute to the fundamental teaching-learning process. So I innovate based on the requirement. If I feel a certain topic is difficult, I create role-plays or fun-games,” said Sawant. She also started organizing women’s meetings. “This was apart from the parent-teacher meetings. I wanted the women to understand the importance of education. Soon, they started trusting me. Last year, three students left private schools to join this school. Two more will be joining this year,” she added.

Sawant knows that not all the children can complete higher education. Therefore, she teaches them the skills necessary for starting small businesses. “During Diwali, I bring raw materials to make diyas and lanterns. The children make them and then sell the products. They handle everything — from setting prices to maintaining books,” she said.

“The school is in a very remote area. Yet students there understand English. This happened after Dipali madam came,” said Kiran Dhande, the principal of the District Institute of Continuous Professional Development, Wardha.

Dinesh Ladhi, a local resident, said the teacher has not only changed the school’s quality but also the village’s. “She started preparing students for the Navodaya Vidyalaya exams and two of our students have got through. We also have kids qualifying for the state scholarship exams.”

