A small tiled house in Muppathadam, near Eloor in Ernakulam, has been receiving many visitors in recent days. People are coming to meet and congratulate Dharaksha Parveen, a young woman originally from Bihar, whose life story has now found its way into the school curriculum.
Twelve years ago, Dharaksha moved from Bihar to Kerala.
Now, a memoir in the form of a letter to a friend—where she recalls her childhood in Bihar and how her life changed after moving to Kerala—has been included in the new textbook for sixth standard students in Kerala.
The memoir she wrote in Malayalam, Thozhilinte Ruchi, Bhashayudeyum (which translates to The Taste of Labour and Language), recalls how her impoverished family, with no resources or proper educational infrastructure in their native village in Darbhanga, rebuilt their lives after arriving in Kerala.
It also highlights how the Kerala government's special education programme Roshni, designed for the children of migrant labourers, helped her achieve her dream.
"In Bihar, I studied up to the 3rd standard. The school had no benches, desks, or even enough teachers. When we came to Kerala, I joined the 4th standard here. We had everything we needed—good furniture, books, and teachers. My siblings also joined school here," an excited Dharaksha told PTI.
Dharaksha soon began learning Malayalam and even tutored the children of migrant labourers in government schools under the Roshni programme.
"The children face difficulties with the language when they join schools here, so I helped them using my knowledge of Hindi and my basic understanding of Bengali and Oriya," Dharaksha said.
Her father, Muhammed Sameer, works at a footwear manufacturing company in Ernakulam, and from a young age, Dharaksha was eager to earn something on her own. She has a passion for fashion design and enrolled in an ITI course immediately after completing her 10th standard.
"I wanted to study fashion design as I've always been passionate about creating clothes. Now I'm working in that field and also pursuing a degree in Hindi language through distance education from Indira Gandhi National Open University," she said.
Her mother, Rajiya Khath, is a housewife. Her brothers--Mohammed Sameer, studies at MES College, Marampilly, and Mohammed Adil is a Plus Two student at GHSS Muppathadam.
At a recent function in Kochi, where Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also present, Dharaksha spoke about how the state's strong public education system in Kerala had helped her receive a good education.
She also requested the CM to extend the Roshni scheme to all government schools across the state.
"I was told that the chief minister has agreed to my suggestion to extend the scheme to all schools. I am yet to receive confirmation," Dharaksha said.
Her biggest dream is to own a house in Kerala, and she is now working hard to make that dream a reality. "I love this state and consider my arrival here the greatest stroke of luck in my life. Everyone here has supported and encouraged me," Dharaksha said.
It was a teacher from Palakkad who, after hearing Dharaksha's story, encouraged her to write down her experiences.
Her account was later selected by the state government's textbook committee to be included in the curriculum for sixth-grade students.
Talking to PTI, Director General of Education Shanavas S IAS said that Dharaksha's memoir was the best representation of the state education department's efforts to bring the children of guest workers into the mainstream.
This has been achieved by offering training in Malayalam, while also using facilitators to help the children continue learning their languages through the Roshni project.
"We had recommended Dharaksha's writing to the curriculum committee of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), and they acknowledged that the girl's writing in Malayalam was of high quality and a genuine account of the benefits of the Roshni scheme. So, they decided to include it in the sixth standard curriculum from this academic year," Shanavas said.
He added that, based on the girl's request, the government has taken steps to extend the Roshni project to all government schools as well.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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