Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A 37-year-old two-wheeler mechanic, Vijay Iyer, runs a moving school on his scooty: 'Shiksha Rath'. He stops at different slums in Bhopal city and teaches underprivileged children free of charge.
He has been doing this work for the last three years after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though there are no fixed hours of teaching, Iyer sets out of his house in Teela Jamalpura locality in the state capital Bhopal in the morning and continues to work, including repairing scooters and teaching children until sunset.
He speaks to everyone with a benign smile, and the children too feel happy as soon as they see him. Iyer said that he got inspiration from an elderly woman, Saraswati Bhawani, who believed that every child should get an education.
Iyer has designed his scooter as a moving school with posters of Education Express, Scooter School and Shiksha Rath. The scooter also has a storage box and a speaker. The box contains books, toys, dresses, and education related stuff for children. He also carries a carpet and projector; starts classes wherever children gather.
He teaches the students through songs and stories, and children too liked this style. He also makes children aware of education and going to school. Additionally, Iyer provides books, copies, and toys to needy children for free.
"One can donate unusual stuff like a computer, laptop, study table, chair, school bag, clothes, toys, toy cycle, uniform, books, stationery, etc. and study related materials to us for providing to the needy poor children," stated a banner placed on Iyer's scooty.
Iyer told ANI, "I am a mechanic by profession and have also done engineering. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I helped many people and at that time I came in contact with Dadi Saraswati Bhavani and she was fond of teaching children. She has worked in CRP (Cluster Resource Person)- they help in providing primary education to students in remote areas, and currently lives in Mumbai. She believed that every child should get an education." "We have been doing this for the last three years, and over 3000 children have been connected with us. Along with this, I educate children in more than 60 Anganwadi centres in Bhopal. Through Shiksha Rath, I give children study material like bags, books, shoes and other educational materials. A projector is also installed in the Shiksha Rath through which knowledge imparted among the children," he added.
"I got this inspiration from Dadi Saraswati Bhawani and I am able to do all this under her supervision. We also receive monetary support from the Bhawani family. Over 3000 underprivileged children living in slum areas in Bhopal have been connected with us. We have different timing of teaching in different areas, with three hours of teaching in the morning and two hours in the evening regularly," Iyer further said.
The place where children didn't go to school for some reason and in migrant worker areas, children are motivated for the education, he added.
Additionally, he explained that there is a dense population in slum areas, and big vehicles cannot reach there. Therefore, he designed the scooty in the form of Shiksha Rath.
