Sadaf Shabir and Fahim MattooBattling low wages and rising bear attacks, these
temporary educators serve students of semi-nomadic communities for six months
every year Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir: “My children study in fourth and sixth grades.
They are the first in our whole family to attend a school,” Mohammad Yousuf,
a member of the Bakarwal community, beams with pride as he sees off his two
children to their seasonal <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">school
at Chindermarg in Anantnag district of Kashmir.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>This school is no brick-and-mortar institution where children sit on
benches in well-equipped classrooms. It is in the lap of nature, among the
towering <span style="font-family: Charter; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">pine&nbsp;trees, with little to no infrastructure.There is a white board that <span style="font-family: Charter; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">Bilal Ahmad Kumar&nbsp;(27), the teacher, uses to introduce his
students to their subjects of study, besides picture books from which
children read. Sitting on the grass patch, children learn Mathematics, English,
Science, Kashmiri and much more.Kumar runs the seasonal school from March to September <span style="font-family: Charter; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">as the semi-nomadic communities of
Gujjars and Bakarwals move from Jammu region to Kashmir during this period, in
search of better pastures for their animals.&nbsp;Like several others, Yousuf’s family lives in a makeshift&nbsp;<span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">kotha&nbsp;<span style="font-family: Charter; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">(mud hut)&nbsp;and&nbsp;sells cattle, ghee and milk to make a living in <span style="font-family: Charter; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">Chindermarg. As the winter approaches in September, they return to Rajouri, their
hometown located in Jammu division.<div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1783986/story_photos_(default)_(25).jpg" id="1802726" style="width: 100%;">Every day, Bilal Ahmad walks up to 15 km to reach his students, a true education trailblazer (Photo - Sadaf Shabir, 101Reporters)</div>Gujjars and Bakarwals constitute nearly 12% of the population of Jammu
and Kashmir. Together, they form the third largest ethnic community in the
Union Territory. However, <span style="font-family: Charter; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325883655_Socio-Economic_and_Educational_Status_of_Tribal_Gujjar_and_Bakarwal_of_Jammu_and_Kashmir_An_Overview">education</a>&nbsp;had been a distant dream for them until the
Jammu and Kashmir government set up seasonal education centres under <span style="font-family: Charter; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan&nbsp;in 2003.&nbsp;To run the school, the Union Ministry of Education sanctions Rs 6,000 per
migratory child and provides Rs 2,500 per seasonal centre for purchase of teaching
and learning equipment, including a whiteboard, easel, markers, dusters and
interactive charts. As these schools function in open meadows, they do not even have a toilet. The only other facility that the government has provided here is a tent, which is installed as and when required."According to&nbsp;our education department,&nbsp;more than 33,000 children study in seasonal schools. Every year, nearly 1,500 teachers are hired for a six-month period to instruct them,"&nbsp;Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, adviser to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir,&nbsp;told 101Reporters."These schools hold a high priority for the government as the children from nomadic communities have limited educational opportunities. So, the government is committed to ensuring all necessary facilities for their benefit. In 2021, the Union Territory administration raised the salaries of seasonal teachers from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 per month," Bhatnagar stated.&nbsp;<div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1783986/story_photos_(default)_(27).jpg" id="1802728" style="width: 100%;">From 2023 onwards, government supported these young learners with free books and stationery (Photo - Sadaf Shabir, 101Reporters)</div>High risk, low rewards<o:p></o:p>Despite their dedication, volunteer teachers do not get major
benefits. They are temporary workers who <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">are paid&nbsp;Rs 10,000 per month, which means Rs 60,000 for six months. Like other seasonal teachers, Kumar&nbsp;wants the government to provide him with a full time job in the same field.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>Kumar has been running the seasonal school for the last three years. “When
families migrate after six months, we are left unemployed for the rest of the
year. We do not get any money from the government when the school remains closed. So, we
have no option but to work as labourers then,” he told&nbsp;101Reporters.<o:p></o:p>While he applauded the government’s initiative for the children’s
betterment, he wished that the volunteers be given <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">some additional benefits&nbsp;—&nbsp;a salary hike and full time jobs&nbsp;—&nbsp;considering the risks they take to impart education.&nbsp;Kumar resides at Chittergul, located 15 km from Chindermarg. <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-size: 20px;">Six days a week, he navigates through the deep forest,
with no roads or connectivity, to reach the seasonal school. In recent years, <span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/kashmir-bucks-trend-of-asiatic-black-bear-attacks-over-2000-incidents-reported-in-20-years/article66463752.ece" style="">bear
attacks</a> have been on the rise here,
resulting in fatalities and severe injuries.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>Seasonal teachers try to get back home before sunset, but sometimes they are stranded due to inclement weather. In such circumstances, the families
of their students arrange a separate hut and food for them. Most
often, the community head makes these arrangements. However, other families
volunteer to help if the stay exceeds a few days.<o:p></o:p>Yousuf noted that several of these seasonal teachers choose to stay with
families like his throughout the educational season as reaching far-flung
and secluded areas daily is a daunting task.<o:p></o:p>“Earlier, students from semi-nomadic
communities had to abandon their education due to their yearly migration. Now, I trek to&nbsp;this high-altitude location to teach 35 students. However, as their migration season starts, we are left with only 15 students by September-end, and our yearly contract comes to an end,” Kumar said. Though the Chindermarg seasonal school has only one teacher, there are many seasonal educators in Chittergul area.&nbsp;<div class="embed-container" align="center" style="line-height: 1;"><img src="https://assets.ramen.101reporters.com/inpic/2023/9/101RPT1783986/story_photos_(default)_(26).jpg" id="1802727" style="width: 100%;">Bilal Ahmad Kumar inspires young minds in Chindermarg, Anantnag district (Photo - Sadaf Shabir, 101Reporters)</div>Two schools of life <o:p></o:p>The students from semi-nomadic communities are
learning from two types of schools now <span style="font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">— traditional and formal. Living in the highlands with their sheep and goats, the mornings of
Irshad and Iqbal, class two students of the seasonal school in Chindermarg,
look very different from that of the children in cities. Before picking up
their bags and leaving for the school located a few steps from their huts around 10 am, they
assist their elders in herding cattle to the meadows.<o:p></o:p>“I wish to be a teacher,”
Irshad says confidently. He is inspired by and is in awe of Kumar and wants to
teach the children from his community when he grows up.<o:p></o:p>Iqbal aspires to be a doctor who will provide the much-needed medical
care to his community's sick people, who struggle to access healthcare
services. "We love to study here.
It is tough for us due to the annual migration, but these teachers visit us
every day and help us learn so many new things,” he says with gratitude. Most of&nbsp;the children in Chindermarg complained of not having many friends as they are constantly changing schools.After finishing school at 4 pm, Irshad and Iqbal will return to cattle rearing, where they watch over the animals and fetch water from nearby ponds and lakes for them and for personal use. Unlike the regular primary school students, they do not get mid-day meals at school.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>In the next six months, Irshad and Iqbal will continue their studies in Rajouri, before coming back
with renewed zeal to get admission in class three.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>“Had it not been for the
teacher here, our children would have been deprived of learning opportunities.
This teacher is helping our children have bigger dreams,” sums up
Yousuf, with a smiling face and twinkling eyes. Edited by&nbsp;Shuchita Jha&nbsp;&nbsp;Cover Photo -&nbsp;Bilal Ahmad educating Bakarwal children as they return to Rajouri, Jammu (Sadaf Shabir, 101Reporters)