How 'Mowgli Schools' are transforming the lives of children in Bahraich's forest

Uttar Pradesh: Located in the Dudhwa-Katarniya forest area, 'Mowgli Schools' are giving wings to the dreams of children of forest dwellers.

Set up by the forest department officials, the schools, one located in Motipur and another in Barda areas of the forest reserve, impart education together to around 350 children, most of them aged between seven and 10.

These schools, named after the main character "Mowgli" of Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book', operate in the evening from forest department buildings.

"The children are provided with colourful books, comics, sports items, and are also shown cartoons. The schools are run more like tuition centres where children from nearby areas come in the evening and study," Akashdeep Badhawan, Divisional Forest Officer, told the news agency PTI.

According to forest department officials, most of the children are from marginalised families. They help their parents on farms during the day and in the evening come to school.

Earlier, these children used to wander in the forest area to collect firewood which made them susceptible prey for wild animals especially big cats like leopards.

The Dudhwa-Katarniya forest area is a hotspot of man-animal conflict and many cases have even been reported where leopards killed locals, officials stated.

"The idea is to prevent the children from venturing into the forest by providing them a safe place to play and learn. The number of students in schools has increased over the years. We want the children of the area to become an important part of the society rather than becoming a victim of man-animal conflict," Badhawan stated further.

These centres also teach students about the ecology of the area and various animals residing in the reserve.

Though there is a dedicated teacher at both schools, forest officials, veterinary experts, Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) personnel and other government officials also volunteer and take classes.

The forest department reportedly gets support from the World Wildlife Fund (WFF) and other social organisations to run the schools. These organisations donate teaching equipment, projectors, books and sports items to the schools on regular basis.

(With PTI inputs)

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