Beldanga, Feb. 20: A 40-year-old primary teacher in a remote Murshidabad school has dipped his life's savings and taken a loan from his provident fund to improve the infrastructure of the institution.
Biswajit Dutta, an assistant teacher at Naopukuria-Natunpara Primary School, has been working tirelessly since 2001 to improve the infrastructure of the school and its 500-odd students.
Barely a year after spending Rs 50,000 from his modest savings to get two extra toilets constructed for the students, he now has taken a loan of Rs 50,000 from his provident fund to arrange for purified drinking water facility and a 43-inch LED television set to facilitate computer-aided studies for his students.
In the past, he had worked hard to ensure government aid to get 11 new classrooms constructed for the school. Before his initiative, there were only two classrooms.
"The credit for everything that's good about this school now goes entirely to Dutta. His passion is exemplary and inspiring," said headmistress Panpiara Khatun.
According to her, Dutta has almost single-handedly turned things around for the school and its students. The top-of-the-line water filtration system he has installed in the school, for instance, spending Rs 30,000 from his own pocket, has made a discernible difference in the health of the students. The LED television set he bought for Rs 24,000 has been of use for visual-aided teaching in several subjects.
"He is constantly thinking about newer ways to improve the school and the education we provide to the students. He spends much of his spare time in the school, helping out in administrative and other work," she said.
Dutta, who was felicitated for his efforts by the district administration in 2012, wants to do even more.
"Some people I know make fun of me for my so-called sacrifices to make life better for my students. They don't understand the difference these little things can make in the long run," he told this newspaper.
According to him, he is far from being done and is putting every last paisa aside - from his income of a little over Rs 20,000 a month, with which he also has to support his wife and a 10-year-old son - to do more things for the school.
"There are some other plans. If I can arrange for the funds, I will definitely try to realise them. I have been saving also. I save for the school as a force of habit. My wife is used to it by now," he said.
Murshidabad district primary school council chairman Debashis Baidya said Dutta is the district's "pride" and the council would do everything it can to support him in his dream of making his school the best in the district.
"People like Dutta are a gift. They contribute immensely in the uplift of backward schools. We are always looking to back such people," he said.
- Telegraph, in pic Biswajit Dutta takes classes in the primary school. Picture by Chayan Majumdar
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