This teacher gives students a haircuts

Vijaysinh Parmar/TNN/Sanath (Deesa taluka): Rabindranath Tagore did it in a poem for kids now famous for its innovative approach. In faraway Deesa in north Gujarat, Bhavesh Pandya has made it to the Limca Book of World Records for penning 874 stories in Gujarati that do not have ‘jodakshar’ or compound consonant, making it simple for children learning the language. In his village Sanath, 18 km from Deesa on the banks of Banas river, the one bright spot amidst poverty is the primary school where Pandya teaches. From cutting the hair of children who cannot afford to go to a barber to taking care of picking a student as the head boy so that he learns to be responsible, Pandya has made the school a very different place of learning. He has converted the whole school campus into a learning process, using every wall, door, window and floor for educational purpose. “My first aim was to make children interested in coming to school. I created an atmosphere so that they would like to stay on even after school,’’ says Pandya. “In our school, there are no laws which hamper kids’ liberty, creativity. Children decide what they want to learn. If children say that we want to learn mathematics the whole day, we do it’’ adds Pandya. Every Saturday, Pandya gives students a haircut and clips their nails. “The nearest barber is about 20 km from the village. This would mean children would miss classes and their parents their daily wage. And, most of them can’t afford the cost of a haircut. So, I do it myself,” says Pandya.