Free school under a bridge


Rajesh Kumar Sharma, a shopkeeper, and his colleague, Laxmi Chandra, write on black boards painted on a building wall at a free school run underneath a metro bridge in New Delhi, India. At least 30 children from the nearby slums have been attending and receiving a free education from their makeshift school for the last three years.

The  children attend class for two hours each day where they learn math and basic reading and writing skills. His greatest achievement is changing the attitude of his students' parents, many of them now encourage their children to study.

Most students are registered in nearby government-run schools, but attend Free School's classes because the teaching helps them understand formal syllabi. Moreover, they don’t have to pay any money.

“In the Free School, we are assisted in completing our homework and understand what we were taught at school. Also, the time sharma spend here would have been otherwise wasted in roaming around or gossiping. The school is of great help”.