A Bihar School Where Students Become Teachers After Class Hours, Teach 800 Slum Kids For Free In Nalanda
In this school, students donate pocket money and time to teach underprivileged children free of cost, turning classrooms into a powerful movement.
Published : February 26, 2026 at 4:39 PM IST
By Mohammad Mahmood Alam
Nalanda: A school in Bihar Sharif is changing the norm and rewriting the new normal with the help of senior students, who don the role of teachers after school hours to educate slum children living on the periphery. An initiative that started as a small mission in 2016 has now emerged as a movement that is shaping the lives of nearly 800 children who were otherwise whiling away their time in dark and dingy alleys.
The school operates on the premises of a private school in Khandakpar, Bihar Sharif, in Nalanda district of Bihar. Here, senior school students voluntarily teach underprivileged children for free after regular school hours.
Like Nusrat Khatoon, for whom the school was more than a classroom. It also became her lifeline after her father passed away in Delhi during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the family in financial distress.
“That was such a difficult time that I thought I would have to stop studying. But the school supported me. When everyone else abandoned me, my teacher here stood by me. That is why I was able to continue my education,” Nusrat recalls.
She completed her matriculation with second division and received a mobile phone from her teacher as a gift. Today, Nusrat teaches younger children at the same school and earns Rs 1,000 a month, money which she gives to her mother to run the household and support her two sisters. One of them studies in Class 9 at the same school.
“Education at the school is free and tuition classes are offered in the evening. So when I teach, whatever I earn helps my family survive,” she says.
Anjali is in Class 4, but she has made up her mind to join the Army and serve the nation. Her father works as a carpenter and struggles to support four children.
“A senior Didi told us to come and study, so we come and do not have to pay anything for our classes. We also get notebooks and books. I want to become a soldier,” says Anjali, who, for the past six years, has been attending the school regularly, dreaming of making it big one day.
The story of the school’s origin is interesting and praiseworthy. A group of school-going children noticed that many children in nearby slums spent their days playing on the streets, often fighting and using abusive language. Two of the students, Chandni and Priyanshi, decided that they should do something to change the situation of these slum children.
Chandni, who is physically challenged, went door-to-door in Dalit settlements, persuading parents to send their children for classes. What started in 2016 with just 30 children has now grown into a structured initiative supported by nearly 100 senior student volunteers under the banner of the Interact Club, a wing of the Rotary Club.
Today, around 800 children study here, which is no mean feat.
The model is simple but powerful. After regular school hours, i.e., after 5 pm, classrooms remain open and senior students don the role of teachers to teach slum children. Classes from 1 to 10 are held at no cost.
Initially, the students donated their pocket money, along with old books, notebooks, and school bags. Over time, local doctors, businessmen, and social workers also joined hands. They started celebrating birthdays and anniversaries at the school by distributing clothes, shoes, stationery and sweets.
Shipra, who has been teaching here since Class 9, says, “Every child has the right to education. Some children went to government schools but could not cope, so they did not continue. We went door-to-door to convince parents. Now 800 children are studying.”
“The Rotary Club is also helping us in this effort. We lure the slum children at times with bags, notebooks,” adds Shipra.
The principal of the school, Babu T. Thomas, had no qualms about allowing the children to use classrooms after school hours. “The children had the passion but no place to teach. I was deeply impressed by their kindness. We also wanted to ensure that no child remains illiterate, so we agreed,” he says.
However, one of the biggest challenges, he explains, is continuing girls’ education after Class 8, as many parents want them to start working or get married. Volunteers keep counselling families and promise not to abandon the children until they find meaningful employment or receive vocational training.
“During one of my Rotary meetings in 2014, we decided to educate underprivileged children in states like Bihar and Jharkhand. We also set a deadline of 10 years, say 2025 or 2026, by which we must cover all children who cannot attend school due to lack of resources. Back at the school, when I discussed this with the senior class students, they jumped in to start the initiative,” explains the principal, adding that student strength keeps fluctuating but “most come back.”
Many of the children’s parents are daily wage labourers. Though they were hesitant to appear on camera, they expressed deep gratitude. “We do not have enough money to educate our children. But through this school, if our daughter studies and builds her future, we will be very happy,” says Sulochana Devi, mother of a student, Nandini.
Students like Mukta Rani (Class 12) and Karan (Class 9) now teach regularly at the evening school.
What makes this initiative extraordinary is not infrastructure or funding, but the empathy in the hearts of those who have the means yet want to hold the hands of those who do not. Children who once played on the streets now dream of becoming doctors, police officers and soldiers. They come to classes regularly and are ready to script their own future.
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