In 1992, when Bhagwan Shivdas Mali came to visit his uncle in Navi Mumbai from Jalgaon, little did he know that it would be a turning point in his career. Mr. Mali had stood first in M.A. and B.Ed in Jalgaon and had secured a government job in a school there. He had come to Navi Mumbai for a pleasure trip before plunging into the job.
Slow, steady start
Mr. Mali’s uncle was attached with Kalamboli police station and used to discuss a few cases with him. Once a case of a youngster hailing from the nearby Kopra village became the topic of discussion. Mr. Mali was told that Kopra was a remote village near Kharghar and was devoid of basic infrastructure. The village had around 50 families with 200 people. Most of the men worked in brick kilns, while the womenfolk worked as maids or at construction sites. The children, left on their own, were engaged in anti-social activities. Education, it was felt, could help stop such activities. Sudhagad Education Society (SES), which was running a school in Kalamboli, agreed to start classes for the children and approached Mr. Mali. SES did not have funds, but it got the name of the school registered and handed over its charge to Mr. Mali.
Although hesitant in the beginning, Mr. Mali decided to work for the betterment of the village on a salary of ₹100. “Right from childhood, I had a deep desire to work for society. Looking at the state of the village and its children, I felt the need to do something for them and decided to make them good and responsible citizens through education.”
The village had a small Zilla Parishad school that provided education till Class V. After that none of the children went for further studies. With great difficulty and after going to each and every house, Mr. Mali and the village sarpanch, Keshav Govind Limaye, convinced 14 children (seven boys and seven girls) aged between 16-17 years to attend free tuition classes. With one black board and few chalks, the classes began on the premises of a nearby Mandir from April 1992.
Gradually, Mr. Mali visited other nearby villages such as Morbigaon, Belpadagaon and Kharghargaon, and requested parents to send their wards to attend the classes. Within six months, 21 children enrolled themselves. By the year end, two more teachers joined the initiative and the children were divided into Classes VIII and IX. As the number of children rose, it became difficult to hold classes on the premises of the temple.
A stroke of luck
As luck would have it, renowned Bollywood actor Mukri, who had a social leaning, gave his plot in the village to the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the development authority for Navi Mumbai, to construct a school. CIDCO handed over the plot and ₹ 50,000 to SES for constructing two rooms. The SES Secondary School, Kopra, now stands on the plot. By 1995, the school’s strength rose to 80 children and education was provided till Class X. Once again, the two rooms became insufficient to hold classes. To raise funds, Mr. Mali and the students went from door-to-door collecting bricks, cement and other materials and started construction by themselves. Time was set apart for study and construction and by 1996, five rooms with sheds were built.
Santosh Tamboli of the 1992 batch recalls, “The plot was full of stones and pebbles and clearing it was a difficult task. All the children, teachers and field staff worked on the plot after study hours.” A few philanthropists donated furniture. The children could now sit on benches rather than on the floor. By 1999, the school also received permission to start Class V.
By now, former students were well placed; some of them were village sarpanch, councillors and engineer, and donated generously. The school now has a ground-plus-three structure with 15 rooms, a science lab, a computer lab with 25 computers, a well-stocked library, and 560 students (400 in Marathi medium and 160 in English medium).
Awards and accolades
While the first batch scored an average 35% in Class X board exams in 1994-95, the average percentage in 2015-16 was 94%, with mostly girls scoring high marks. Sandhya Dhananjay Donghade, whose father is a driver and mother is tea-seller at a construction site in Taloja, scored 95.45% in 2013.
Mr. Mali says, “Two girls are pursuing MBBS degrees, while many are successful engineers and businessmen.” The students have also excelled in sports, and have progressed up to the district level in kabaddi and cricket. The school’s physical education teacher, Nikum Sunil Dharma, says, “Our children have won laurels in swimming competitions as well. However, the pond in which they used to practice has now dried up. The students no longer are able to take part in swimming competitions.” In 1998, CIDCO awarded the school for its green initiative of planting around 5,000 trees in and around its premises. It also won CIDCO’s ‘Best School Award’ in 2004-05.
Inspirational teacher
Mr. Mali is a prolific writer and has penned three books in Marathi. In Prerna, he describes the achievements of 365 people from across the globe to inspire and motivate children. Of the other two books, one is on the management of schools and the other a collection of motivational essays for children. In 2012, he was conferred with the Panvel Bhushan Award and the Best Teacher Award by the Zilla Parishad.
In April this year, the school will be celebrating its silver jubilee. The alumni have chalked out few plans says Mr. Tamboli. “We will be inviting all the former students and host a big programme. Donation collected on the occasion will be used for constructing more rooms, a office, a gym and buying equipment for the lab.” There is also a plan to start Class XI from the next academic year.
